Joel Embiid Wins NBA MVP: Sixers Star Beats Jokic, Antetokounmpo for Award

• Sixers star Joel Embiid won his first NBA Most Valuable Player award
• He defeated Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic for the honor
• Embiid joined Hakeem Olajuwon as the only African-born players to win MVP

The long wait is finally over for Joel Embiid.

He defeated two-time MVPs Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic to win his first NBA Most Valuable Player award.

The Sixers center is the first player to win the MVP trophy named after Michael Jordan.

Embiid tops MVP voting

The final results were not close at all.

Embiid dominated the voting for the MVP Award, receiving 73 first-place votes and 915 total points from the media panel consisting of 100 members, per Yahoo! Sports.

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He edged the reigning two-time MVP winner Jokic, who got 15 first-place votes and amassed 674 total points.

Antetokounmpo finished third in the MVP race, receiving 12 first-place votes and 606 total points.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum finished a distant fourth in the MVP voting, receiving 280 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rounded out the top five, with the Oklahoma City Thunder guard getting 46 points.

Embiid delivers with MVP season

Embiid is a very deserving winner of the MVP.

He led the NBA in scoring for a second consecutive year, averaging 33.1 points per game this season. That is the most by a center in the league since Bob McAdoo averaged 34.5 points per contest in his 1975 MVP season.

Embiid had 55/33/86 shooting splits this campaign. He also averaged 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.7 combined steals and blocks per game this season.

MVP Embiid makes history

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Embiid made history with his MVP win, joining Hakeem Olajuwon as the only African-born players to capture the honor.

The Cameroonian big man is the sixth player born outside the United States to win the prestigious award, joining Antetokounmpo, Jokic, Olajuwon, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki.

International players have now won the NBA’s last five MVP awards. Embiid, Jokic, and Antetokounmpo swept the top three spots in the MVP voting for a second straight year.

Brown wins top coaching award

Sports Brief recently reported on Mike Brown winning the Coach of the Year award.

The Sacramento Kings head coach made history, becoming the first unanimous winner of the award.

He led the Kings to the playoffs after a 17-year drought.