Joel Embiid is the face of the Philadelphia 76ers, one of the best big men in the last two decades and a self-proclaimed Twitter troll. And now he is an NBA MVP. And he might also be Nostradamus reincarnated.
The Sixers juggernaut envisioned his MVP coronation when he was a wide-eyed rookie recovering from a broken foot in 2014. He predicted that he would sit atop the superstar totem pole in a “couple years” time in a tweet that has now been “Spoken into existence” after the voting results were revealed Tuesday.
SPOKE IT INTO EXISTENCE https://t.co/XW4QKuuLqH
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) May 3, 2023
Embiid blew his competition away, finishing more than 200 points ahead of two-time winner Nikola Jokic. There were big expectations for the center from Cameroon dating back to his days with the Kansas Jayhawks. But his seemingly eternal rehab process (did not play first two years of career) caused his name to be mentioned in the same sentence as Sam Bowie much more frequently than MVPs like LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
After a dominant season, his name will be etched on the same trophy as theirs. Joel Embiid again led the NBA in scoring with just over 33 points per game. He added 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steal a night to round out a complete stat sheet befitting of the esteemed honor.
The Sixers just scored a major road victory over the Boston Celtics without Embiid (knee injury), but he has been the anchor and the man trusted to lead Philadelphia to the mountaintop for a while now. The NBA Finals is still a hazy dream without his availability.
His return is the priority, but there needs to be proper time for the NBA world to truly bask in Embiid's greatness. Judging by his tweet, the 29-year-old should have no problem savoring the moment.
One has to assume that he also imagined exactly where to display his first MVP award.
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