Joel Embiid began the long process toward NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) as a towering soccer prospect in Africa who never picked up a basketball until he was a teenager.
Once he changed sports for good, Embiid became a generational — albeit often-injured — talent, and the affable center quickly became the face of the Philadelphia 76ers’ rebuilding effort more commonly known as The Process.
He embraced the nickname and is introduced before every home game as Joel “The Process” Embiid. He can now add MVP.
Photo: AP
The All-Star center and two-time league scoring champion, Embiid, who had long lobbied for the award, earned his first NBA MVP trophy on Tuesday night, topping two-time winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
The 29-year-old from Yaounde, Cameroon, who averaged 33.1 points to win his second straight scoring title, averaged 10.2 rebounds and tied a career high with 4.2 assists per game.
Embiid has been sidelined with a sprained right knee that cost him one game of the playoff sweep against the Brooklyn Nets and the opening game of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Boston Celtics, which was won by Philadelphia on Monday night.
Jokic finished runner-up in the MVP voting, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks was third. Embiid received 73 first-place votes, Jokic received 15 first-place votes and Antetokounmpo got 12.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Embiid said. “A lot of hard work. I’ve been through a lot. I’m not just talking about basketball. I’m talking about my life. My story. Where I come from. How I got here and what it took for me to be here.”
The 76ers watched on TV in Boston. They erupted in applause and started chanting: “MVP, MVP” as the big man buried his head in his hands sitting in a chair in the team hotel.
Embiid was in tears as teammates James Harden, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey mobbed him in celebration.
“I am absolutely thrilled for Joel on winning the MVP award. He is the real deal and deserves every bit of recognition that comes his way,” coach Doc Rivers said. “He embodies everything that the honor stands for. His drive to improve is unmatched, and like the saying ‘a dream doesn’t become reality through magic, it takes hard work,’ he’s put in the work.”
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