If you had any doubts about who would be the MVP of the 2022-23 NBA season, those doubts might have been put to rest after what we saw on Tuesday night.
Against the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid was special! He finished with 52 points on 20-of-25 shooting, 13 rebounds, and six assists as the Philly defeated the Celtics for the first time in four games this season, 103-101 at Wells Fargo Center.
According to StatHead, Embiid joins Wilt Chamberlain (twice) as the only players in the history of the NBA with 50-10-5 on 80-percent-or-better shooting. In addition, Embiid has three 50-point double-doubles this season, tied for the most such games in the NBA this season.
76ers head coach Doc Rivers has seen enough; Embiid, not two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic is the league MVP.
“We couldn’t make shots,” Rivers said. “We had guys making shots with open shots. The man scored half our points in an NBA game. And I’m biased, but the MVP race is over.”
Embiid agrees with Rivers but is also disappointed with how Philly, who was sloppy down the stretch, closed the game against the Celtics.
“They’re probably right, but we got bigger goals,” Embiid said. “Like I said, they’re probably right, but we got bigger goals in mind. You know, we understand we got a chance, but it’s not gonna be easy. Tonight, for me, was kind of disappointing because we found so many ways to lose the game, and that’s on all of us.”
At this point, Embiid, who is averaging a league-best 33.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.7 blocks per contest, has made an excellent case for MVP, but so has Jokic. However, Embiid has the momentum and elevated his game to the next level, so to Rivers’ point, the race for MVP is over.
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