Joel Embiid began the long process toward NBA MVP as a towering soccer prospect in Africa who never picked up a basketball until he was a teenager.<\/p>\n
Once he changed sports for good, Embiid became a generational \u2014 albeit often-injured \u2014 talent. And, the affable center quickly became the face of the Philadelphia 76ers\u2019 rebuilding effort more commonly known as The Process.<\/p>\n
He embraced the nickname and is introduced before every home game as Joel \u201cThe Process\u201d Embiid.<\/p>\n
Embiid can now add MVP.<\/p>\n
The All-Star center and two-time league scoring champion, Embiid, who had long lobbied for the award, earned his first NBA MVP trophy Tuesday night, topping two-time winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a02022-23 NBA awards<\/a> The 29-year-old from Yaound\u00e9, Cameroon, averaged 33.1 points to win his second straight scoring title, averaged 10.2 rebounds and tied a career high with 4.2 assists per game. Embiid has been\u00a0sidelined with a sprained right\u00a0knee that cost him one game of the playoff sweep against Brooklyn and the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinals against\u00a0Boston, which was won by Philadelphia on Monday night.<\/p>\n Jokic finished runner-up in the MVP voting, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks was third. Embiid received 73 first-place votes. Jokic received 15 first-place votes, and Antetokounmpo got 12.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time coming,\u201d Embiid said. \u201cA lot of hard work. I\u2019ve been through a lot. I\u2019m not just talking about basketball. I\u2019m talking about my life. My story. Where I come from. How I got here and what it took for me to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u2022\u00a0NBA MVP award winners<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n