EMVPIID: Is the 2022-23 MVP Race Over?

After finishing second in MVP voting for the past two seasons, Joel Embiid might’ve just put the icing on the cake for the 2022-23 MVP Race on Tuesday night. He’s been competing all season alongside players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Jayson Tatum, but after his most recent performance, Embiid looks to be the clear-cut favorite.

On April 4th, Embiid carried the Sixers team to a two-point win over the Boston Celtics while scoring 52 of the Sixers’ 103 points on 20-of-25 shooting (80.0 percent). The rest of the team shot 19 of 53 (35.8 percent) from the field. He also added 13 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks. In a postgame interview Sixers Head Coach, Doc Rivers, declared his MVP:

“The MVP race is over. … The man just scored half our points, in an NBA game.”

Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach, Doc Rivers

This type of performance was nothing new for Embiid though, he’s put together two other 50-point performances this season including a career-high 59-point game against the Jazz and a 53-point game against the Hornets. The only other centers to have three 50-point games in a season are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. Embiid has also scored 40+ points in 13 games this season.

The 7’0” superstar is once again averaging an NBA-best 33.3 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 4.2 APG while shooting 54.7% from the field. As the third-seeded Sixers look ahead into the playoffs they can definitely go far especially with Embiid playing the way he is right now, but in order to compete for a spot in the NBA Finals, Embiid is going to need some help.