Perseverance is the nobility of persistence. Philadelphia Sixers pivot Joel Embiid has been named the MVP of the 2022-2023 NBA regular season. The ultimate individual award in the North American Basketball League, for the Cameroonian who remained on two consecutive 2nd places for this distinction so prized. He succeeds the Serbian Nikola Jokic, double title holder and who deprived him of this title the last two years. The pivot of Denver finishes in 2nd place after counting the votes, just ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee), who completes the podium.
The 2022-23 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player is... Joel Embiid!#NBAAwards | #KiaMVP | @Kia pic.twitter.com/Ztj5HCzfuL
— NBA (@NBA) May 2, 2023
At 29 years old and undoubtedly in the form of his life, Joel Embiid becomes the 2nd African player in the history of the NBA to win the MVP award. Only the Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon had managed to win this distinction in ... 1994. Nearly 30 years later, it is the pivot of Philadelphia who wins this trophy that crowns a regular season of high quality. Since the beginning of the season, he has averaged 33.1 points, 10.02 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 rebounds, 1 steal and a 55% shooting percentage. The 6th best scoring average in MVP history, no less!
It is quite logical that under his leadership, Philadelphia has qualified for the play-offs at the end of the regular season, with a 3rd place in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers are still in the race for the title this year and are engaged in the semi-finals of the conference finals against Boston, and lead 1 to 0 in the series. No doubt that after this individual award, Joel Embiid will try to go for the NBA championship with the franchise that drafted him in 2014 and in which he has since taken a whole new dimension.
