Our NBA news feature today is about Joel Embiid, our latest NBA MVP for 2023. Before Game 3 of the Philadelphia 76ers’ second-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics happened, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver presented Joel Embiid with the 2023 NBA MVP trophy. Embiid received 73 out of 100 possible first-place votes for the award. Many credit him for leading the Sixers to the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.Â
PayPerHead bookies love Embiid, who scores pretty well, and consistently as well. He averaged a league-high 33.1 points per game with 11.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, while anchoring the NBA’s eighth-ranked regular-season defense. Embiid, who is seeking his first championship, is also aiming to move past being the runner-up in voting for the past two seasons to Nikola Jokic.
Joel Embiid is the MVP
This season, Embiid, Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo were in contention for the award. Jokic was the betting favorite for most of the season, but Embiid’s numbers improved as the season progressed, while the Nuggets struggled as a team. After scoring 52 points against the Boston Celtics in the last week of the regular season, 76ers coach Doc Rivers said that after this, the search for the MVP was over.
It was somewhat prophetic too, as soon after, even the best bookie pay per head companies had him as their favorite to win the award. Embiid is the 5th 76er to win this award. If Embiid can push through and go all the way to the Finals, maybe he can even grab another award- the FInals MVP.
