Joel Embiid voices big complaint about NBA MVP ceremony

Jan 6, 2020; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) looks on during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Now that he has finally won the NBA MVP Award that he had so desperately coveted for his entire career, Joel Embiid is [checks notes] complaining.

The Philadelphia 76ers star Embiid was officially presented the MVP trophy for the 2022-23 season in a ceremony before Friday’s Game 3 between his team and the Boston Celtics. It was a heartwarming moment where Embiid got to receive his honor in front of his home fans. Embiid even got extremely emotional at one point when his son Arthur ran up to him during the event.

Joel Embiid and his son during his MVP speech 🥹 pic.twitter.com/AFMAAYBebn

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 5, 2023

Embiid’s mother was also by his side during the speech in what was all-around a touching moment, especially since it was Embiid’s first MVP in nine career seasons (the first two of which he had to sit out due to injury).

But the mood would end up being dampened a bit by the result of the game. The 76ers lost to the Celtics 114-102 to fall behind 2-1 in the second-round series and give homecourt advantage right back to Boston.

Speaking with reporters after the contest, Embiid complained about the timing of the MVP ceremony.

“I don’t think it affected me, but all this attention, I feel like it can be a distraction,” said Embiid, per Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice. “I just feel like this type of stuff [can] happen in another time. You got that whole week between the regular season and the playoffs, right before the playoffs you can do something like that.”

Embiid might have been just speaking out of frustration after the loss. He saw a 30-point, 13-rebound effort go to waste (in part due to his co-star’s disappearing act), which had to be especially frustrating since Embiid is playing through an LCL sprain in his knee right now.

Regardless, that is a bit of a strange take by Embiid on his MVP ceremony. Just the other day, the seven-footer was talking about just how much winning the award meant to him.