Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers drives to the basket against Nic Claxton of the Brooklyn Nets. Photo: AFP
The Philadelphia 76ers centre Joel Embiid has won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award.
Embiid, the runner-up in each of the past two years, beat out Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, who had combined to win the past four MVPs.
The Sixers' big man from Cameroon received 73 of 100 first-place votes from a panel of broadcasters and journalists and received 915 total points. Jokic placed second with 15 first-place votes and 674 points; Antetokounmpo received the other 12 first-place votes.
Embiid, 29, is the second player from Africa to win the prestigious award, joining only Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94).
Embiid led the league in scoring for the second straight year, posting a career-high 33.1 points per game to go with 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 blocks.
He shot a career-high 54.8 percent from the field, thanks to 58.7 percent shooting from inside the arc and added 66 3-pointers and 66 steals.
An All-Star every season since 2017-18, Embiid made the All-NBA second teams in 2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Antetokounmpo won back-to-back awards in 2019 and 2020 and Jokic was going for his third consecutive MVP.
-Reuters