Joel Embiid has been named the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December, setting a new record for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Cameroon-born player was formerly tied at four awards with 76ers legend and Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, but his fifth career Player of the Month award puts him at the top of the honours for the Eastern franchise.
In the 13 games played in December, Embiid led the 76ers to nine wins and four losses, including a season-long eight-game win streak from December 9–25.
He also led all NBA players in scoring with 35.4 points per game on 54.5% shooting on field-goal percentage and 41.7% from 3-point range.
a December to remember. 🌟
vote @JoelEmbiid for NBA All-Star: https://t.co/OhoBKH2HGO pic.twitter.com/XkBBRQoTUB
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 3, 2023
The 28-year-old’s 460 points, 129 rebounds, and 23 blocks made him one of only four players in league history with those numbers across 13 games, joining Hall of Famers Moses Malone, Bob McAdoo, and the dominant Shaquille O’Neal.
Embiid scored 30 points in at least 10 games in December, joining Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Iverson as the only 76ers players to have 10 30-point performances in a month.
Also in December, the University of Kansas product had his second 50-point game of the season in a 131-113 win over the Charlotte Hornets. He finished the game with 53 points, 12 rebounds and he was perfect from the free-throw line, making 11 of his 11 attempts.
Embiid made more history by becoming the first center with multiple 50 points games in a single season since Hall of Famer David Robinson in the 1993-94 season.
The Yaounde native ended the month of December with his fifth career triple-double in the win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on New Year’s Eve, thereby becoming the eighth player in the 76ers’ history to produce five triple-doubles with the team.
