76ers’ Joel Embiid beats Nikola Jokic to win his first NBA MVP award

Philadelphia 76ers center and league scoring champion Joel Embiid earned his first NBA MVP trophy on Tuesday night, topping two-time winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.

The 29-year-old from Cameroon, averaged 33.1 points to win his second straight scoring title, averaged 10.2 rebounds and tied a career high with 4.2 assists per game. Embiid played in 66 games, the second-highest total of his career, but has been hit again with injuries in the playoffs. Embiid has been sidelined with a sprained right knee that cost him one game of the playoff sweep against Brooklyn and the opening game of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against Boston, which was won by Philadelphia on Monday night.

Jokic finished runner-up and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks was third. Embiid received 73 first-place votes. Jokic received 15 first-place votes, and Antetokounmpo got 12.

your 2022-23 @Kia NBA MVP: @JoelEmbiid