Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey has some beautiful words for Joel Embiid after the superstar won the 2022-23 MVP trophy, though it's his photo choice with a Pokémon reference that is turning heads.
Following Embiid's official MVP announcement on Tuesday, Morey took to Twitter to share a message for the All-Star center. As he talked about the evolution of Embiid from a promising prospect to being the Most Valuable Player in the league, however, he used a photo of a Dratini turning into a Dragonite to illustrate the big change.
“I have always believed that greatness emerges when talent meets relentless dedication. Joel's season was legendary and the MVP award is the latest milestone of his decorated career. It has been a privilege to watch Joel over the last three seasons & I know this won’t be his last accomplishment as we continue to strive toward our ultimate goal of winning an NBA championship,” Morey wrote in his tweet.
Here's the photo Morey uploaded to accompany his message:
Article Continues BelowI have always believed that greatness emerges when talent meets relentless dedication. Joel’s season was legendary and the MVP award is the latest milestone of his decorated career. It has been a privilege to watch Joel over the last three seasons & I know this won’t be his last… pic.twitter.com/ihnalMVMKy
— Daryl Morey 🗽🏀 (@dmorey) May 2, 2023
His choice of Pokémon aside–he could have chosen a Charmander and a Charizard so more people know what he's referring to–Daryl Morey certainly couldn't have said it any better.
Despite all the criticisms and questions Joel Embiid is receiving over his MVP win, there's no denying that he worked hard for the award and deserved to take it home. The fact that he's an overwhelming winner over Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo also speak volumes on his body of work in the past campaign.
It has definitely been great to watch Embiid become the superstar he is today after missing his first two seasons due to injury. Now, it will be interesting to see what's next for him.