Joel Embiid predicted that he would win NBA MVP after getting drafted. Nearly nine years, he won it as the star of the Philadelphia 76ers.
For the previous two years, Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid had incredible seasons, but it wasn’t enough to win the NBA MVP. Embiid finished second behind Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Now, with the duo once again in contention for the MVP, there was contentious debate as to who should take home the award. On Tuesday night, it was Embiid who received the MVP award, the first of his career. Not just that, but Embiid is the first 76ers player to win the award since Allen Iverson in the 2000-01 season.
During his celebration, Embiid re-shared a prediction he made back in 2014, when he was selected with the third-overall pick in that year’s NBA Draft. He tweeted out that he would win the MVP award in a couple of years. Embiid responded to that tweet, saying “spoke it into existence.”
Joel Embiid shares prediction that he would win NBA MVP almost nine years ago
Almost nine years later, Embiid’s prediction became reality.
Embiid averaged a league-high 33.1 points, in addition to 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 54.8-percent.
As for Jokic, he nearly averaged a triple double, something that hadn’t been done since Russell Westbrook did so in the 2020-21 season. Jokic averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 9.8 assists while posting a 63.2 field goal percentage.
Embiid received 73-of-100 first-place votes, while Jokic got 15. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was the only other player to receive first-place votes with the remaining 12. Embiid earned a total of 915 total points from the voting.
As the 76ers are in the midst of making a push to the Eastern Conference Finals, Embiid realized a dream come true — being recognized as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player.