The Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid has climbed the mountaintop! This week, Embiid won the Michael Jordan Trophy for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, beating out two-time winner Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and two-time defending winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. The pride of Cameroon was a runner-up the past two seasons. Philly fans should be proud of Joel Embiid because he blends a charismatic personality with a tenacious floor game.
Humble Upbringing
His beginnings are as humble as they come. Joel Embiid was already 16 years old before he first played organized basketball. He is a product of the NBA’s outreach camps in Africa.
After one injury-shortened year at the University of Kansas, Joel Embiid was drafted third overall in the 2014 NBA Draft. He promptly missed the first two seasons of his career due to a foot injury. He only played 31 games in his debut season. If you are keeping track, that is four years of organized ball followed by 31 games over the next three years. Not what you would expect from a future MVP.
Various injuries have forced Embiid to miss games for most of his career. Typically an Infirmary All-Star, he played 80 percent of the games this season. Embiid’s lack of availability kept him from winning the MVP Award sooner.
Embiid after hearing his name announced for the NBA’s most coveted individual award.
“It’s been a long time coming, a lot of hard work. I’ve been through a lot, and I’m not just talking about basketball … it feels good. I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing.”
NBA Goliaths
With the onset of analytics, the rise of Steph Curry, and a copycat league, the NBA has become former head coach Mike D’Antoni’s dream playground. Every team aspires to run and gun, leaving a trail of old-school, back-to-the-basket big men in their wake. Ah, but that’s where evolution thrives. It only took four years from when Curry won his first championship for Antetokounmpo to win his first MVP. Big men have dominated the MVP votes in the last half-decade.
The league now has bigs with an array of skill sets. Nikola Jokic is seven feet tall and possibly the league’s best passer. Bam Adebayo is the Miami Heat’s point center, a player who snags the rebound and dribbles through traffic to create plays for teammates. Victor Wembanyama is coming this year, and he fits every skill set imaginable into his 7’2” frame.
Joel Embiid is a goliath that thrives on the defensive end of the court but still leads the league in scoring. The way he changes an opponent’s offense with his rim protection is a sight to behold. It isn’t easy to game plan against his paint presence. On offense, Embiid is a juggernaut. This season, he averaged the most points by a center since NBA Hall-of-Famer Bob McAdoo in 1974-75.
MVP Expectations
With great awards comes great responsibility. Joel Embiid is expected to compete for NBA championships from here forward. Philadelphia has not won an NBA championship in 40 years. Twenty-two years have passed since the Sixers made an NBA Finals appearance. Hopefully, it will happen this year as the 76ers are tied at a game apiece against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Embiid missed the first game of the series due to a knee injury.
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