Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid calls winning MVP ‘validation’ as All-NBA teams are officially named

Joel Embiid finally said it: Winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award has been a dream ever since he belatedly started playing basketball.

‘I know I’ve always said I don’t care, but it was just for you guys to leave me alone,’ the 76ers center said Wednesday, a day after he was voted to his first MVP after two runner-up finishes. ‘I do care in the way that it validates everything, all the work that you’ve put in. And to be sitting here is just amazing.’

A native of Cameroon who didn’t pick up the sport until he was 15, Embiid was the 76ers’ reward for tanking their way to the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft. 

But he missed two full seasons with foot injuries, leaving Philadelphia fans to wait while general manager Sam Hinkie insisted that they ‘Trust the Process.’ 

His recent MVP win made him the first 76er to win the award since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson earned the trophy back in 2001.

MVP winner Joel Embiid called winning the award ‘validation’ but is focusesd on a NBA title 

Embiid averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and tied a career high with 4.2 assists this year

He was expectedly named first-team All-NBA as well when the teams were officially named

Embiid, 29, 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.

He received 73 of the 100 first-place votes for the MVP, with two-time winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets second and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo third.

While acknowledging that the MVP was important to him, Embiid said he is still focused on his primary goal: winning an NBA title. 

Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo rounded out the first-team All-NBA frontcourt

The Sixers have not made it out of the second round of the playoffs since reaching the NBA Finals in 2001.

‘I don’t want to win this award because it’s just the MVP. I want to win it because it means a lot to me (because) I went through a lot, and that’s just a validation of that. Everything — the sacrifices, everything you went through — it’s paying off in some way,’ he said. ‘Obviously, winning the championship is going to be way better. 

‘We now have that opportunity. But I’m just competitive. I want it all. I want to win everything that I can get my hands on. And everybody around me knows that.

The NBA also named it’s three All-NBA teams on Wednesday and as expected Embiid was one of the players named to the first team. 

Joining Embiid on the first team were Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo at forward, and Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at guard.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic were the guards named to the All-NBA first team

On the second team along with Jokic were Miami’s Jimmy Butler and Boston’s Jaylen Brown at forward, and Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell at guard.

James is a 13-time first-team, three-time second-team and now three-time third-team pick. Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were all 15-time selections, tied for the second-most in NBA history.

Antetokounmpo was the only unanimous selection this season as a first-teamer. Tatum got 92 first-team votes, Embiid got 87, Gilgeous-Alexander got 63 and Doncic got 60.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Mitchell, Brown, Sabonis and Fox all made All-NBA for the first time. Embiid was first-team for the first time, while Butler made the second team for the first time after four appearances on the third team.