NBA Fans Celebrate Joel Embiid Finally Being Named MVP
Written by SOURCE on May 3, 2023
After finishing runner-up the last two years in the NBA’s MVP voting, Joel Embiid has finally won the award.
The Philadelphia 76ers big man spoke to TNT’s Inside the NBA shortly after being crowned the league’s 2023 Most Valuable Player.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Embiid shared. “A lot of hard work. I’ve been through a lot. … It feels good. I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing.”
Embiid, 29, is the first 76ers superstar to win the NBA MVP since 2001, when the legendary Allen Iverson accomplished the feat en route to taking the Sixers to the NBA Finals, where they’d ultimately lose to the Shaq-Kobe Lakers.
Joel finished second behind Nikola Jokić in MVP voting the past two seasons, as the Denver Nuggets center became the first back-to-back honoree since Steph Curry, who accomplished the feat in 2015 and ’16. This year, Joel made sure to cement his status as the most dominant center since Shaquille O’Neal, averaging 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.
Embiid earned 73 of 100 first-place votes, with Jokić receiving 15 first-place votes, and two-time MVP winner Giannis Antetokounmpo receiving the remaining 12 votes.
Check out some of the reactions to Embiid’s MVP win in the tweets below.
