Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been announced as the 2022–2023 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player for his numerous explosive and breathtaking performances during the regular season.
The Yaounde native beats competition from the duo of two-time MVPs, Nikola Jokic (2021 and 2022) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019 and 2020), to win the much-coveted Michael Jordan trophy, which has painfully eluded him in the last two seasons.
EMVPIID ????
Joel Embiid is the 2022-23 #KiaMVP! pic.twitter.com/APyhJdfxwa
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 2, 2023
“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.”
Embiid, who also won the league’s scoring title after averaging 33.1 points per game, received 73 first-place votes to win his first MVP honour. Jokic, the former back-to-back winner of the accolade himself, finished second with 15 first-place votes, while Milwaukee Bucks and Greek-Nigerian nightmare Antetokounmpo finished in third with 12 first-place votes.
The 2022-23 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player ????
Congrats, @JoelEmbiid!#NBAAwards | #KiaMVP | @Kia
pic.twitter.com/BVWrfvtWGN— NBA (@NBA) May 2, 2023
The six-time NBA All-Star became the first Sixers player since Allen “The Truth” Iverson in 2001 to win the league’s top individual honor. He also joins basketball greats like Julius Erving (1981), Moses Malone (1983), and Wilt Chamberlain (1966–1968) as the five 76ers stars to win at least one NBA MVP award.
Embiid’s triumph, albeit personal, is a big win for the community of international players in basketball’s most glamorous league, the NBA.
His win ensured an international player was named MVP for the fifth consecutive year, extending the longest streak in league history.
It is also just the second time that international players finished in the top three in the MVP voting category, with the 2021–22 season being the first.
The towering Cameroonian becomes the second winner born in an African country, joining Nigerian and NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, who won the accolade while with the Houston Rockets in 1994.
