AFP: Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player yesterday, comfortably winning a ballot ahead of the Denver Nuggets’ two-time award winner Nikola Jokic. Embiid, who finished runner-up behind Jokic the past two seasons, earned the accolade after a dazzling regular season campaign that saw him average 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 66 games.
Embiid beat out fellow MVP finalists Jokic and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo in a preferential ballot. Results revealed yesterday showed Embiid garnered 73 first place votes, with Jokic 15 and Antetokounmpo 12. “I don’t know really where to start, it’s been a long time coming,” a delighted Embiid told the TNT network yesterday after his award.
“A lot of hard work, I’ve been through a lot. And I’m not just talking about basketball, I’m talking about life, my story, how I got here and what it took for me to be here. “It feels good. I don’t know what to say. Amazing.”
The towering 29-year old Cameroonian power forward helped the Sixers finish third in the Eastern Conference, but has sat out Philadelphia’s last two playoff games after suffering a knee injury in the game three first round defeat of Brooklyn last week.