Joel Embiid had a real Andy Dufresne moment after finally winning his first career MVP.
The Philadelphia 76ers star Embiid was officially named NBA MVP for the 2022-23 season on Tuesday. Embiid led the league with a career-high 33.1 points per game this season and helped Philly land a top-three seed in the stacked Eastern Conference.
The news was announced live on a TNT special before Tuesday’s playoff double-header.
EMVPIID 🏆
Joel Embiid is the 2022-23 #KiaMVP! pic.twitter.com/APyhJdfxwa
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 2, 2023
The 76ers’ Twitter page tweeted out an awesome video of the moment that Embiid found out that he had won. Embiid, watching with all of his 76ers teammates, got visibly emotional as he was embraced by the whole team.
your 2022-23 @Kia NBA MVP: @JoelEmbiid 🏆#KiaMVP pic.twitter.com/DNqnd5g9EY
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 2, 2023
The 29-year-old Embiid earned 73 of 100 first-place votes, easily winning over second-place finisher Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets (who got 15 first-place votes). It was a welcome change for Embiid, who finished second to Jokic the last two straight seasons (including last year when Embiid also led the NBA in scoring).
Embiid is battling a knee injury right now that is threatening his availability for the 76ers’ second-round series against Boston. But now Embiid has something that no one can take away from him — an NBA MVP award.
