NBA
May 6, 2023 | 00:56
About two minutes into his MVP speech on Thursday night, as the packed chants from the Wells Fargo Center died down and there was only Joel Embiid, the Michael Jordan trophy and a microphone, the emotions started to overwhelm the 76ers star.
Embiid waved at his 2-year-old son Arthur – “he’s somewhere,” Embiid said, then his son, dressed in an MVP-themed top, sprinted towards the 7-foot star.
That moment, that hug, that interaction made Embiid start to tear up, and Arthur took control of the spotlight even after Embiid continued.
“Becoming a father has changed my whole life, and I just wanted to set a good example for him – and I’m glad he’s here with us,” Embiid said during his MVP speech.
Embiid received his MVP award – alongside NBA commissioner Adam Silver, his parents and others – before Game 3 between the Celtics and 76ers, which Boston won, 114-102, to take a lead of 2-1 in the series.
Nuggets star Nikola Jokic had won the last two MVP awards and was a contender again in the 2022-23 season, but Embiid won another NBA scoring title, tallied 73 first-place votes and won won the honor over Jokic (15) and Giannis Antetokounmpo. (12).
In winning the MVP award, Embiid, who scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in 39 minutes in the 76ers’ Game 3 loss, now joins Allen Iverson, Julius Erving, Moses Malone and Wilt Chamberlain on the 76ers roster for deserve this honor, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
He averaged 33.1 career points per game during the regular season, along with 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
Then, once the playoffs arrived, Embiid missed the final game of Philadelphia’s first-round series against Brooklyn and the opener of their second-round series against the Celtics.
He returned for Game 2 on Tuesday and contributed 15 points in 26 minutes.
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