Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, the league announced on TNT on Tuesday.
Embiid garnered 73 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, beating out reigning two-time winner Nikola Jokic. Milwaukee Bucks forward and former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo finished third.
Embiid finished runner-up to Jokic in MVP voting each of the last two seasons.
| PLAYER | TEAM | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | 5TH | TOTAL PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Embiid | PHI | 73 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 915 |
| N. Jokic | DEN | 15 | 52 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 674 |
| G. Antetokounmpo | MIL | 12 | 23 | 65 | 0 | 0 | 606 |
| J. Tatum | BOS | 0 | 0 | 1 | 89 | 8 | 280 |
| S. Gilgeous-Alexander | OKC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 28 | 46 |
The Cameroonian center becomes the second African-born player to win the league’s most coveted individual honor and the first Philadelphia 76ers player to accomplish the feat since Allen Iverson in 2000-01.
Embiid led the league in scoring for a second successive campaign (33.1 points per game) on 55-33-86 splits and was elite at the defensive end. He also finished seventh in the Association in rebounding (10.2 RPG) and averaged a career-best 4.2 assists across 66 outings.
The 29-year-old had 13 performances of 40-plus points this season – tied for third with Donovan Mitchell – and was one of just four players to record three or more 50-point outings. Only six players scored more points in the clutch than Embiid and only two registered more blocks. His plus-minus in clutch scenarios led all players.
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