Joel Embiid began the long process toward NBA MVP as a towering soccer prospect in Africa who never picked up a basketball until he was a teenager.
Once he changed sports for good, Embiid became a generational — albeit often-injured — talent. And, the affable center quickly became the face of the Philadelphia 76ers’ rebuilding effort more commonly known as The Process.
He embraced the nickname and is introduced before every home game as Joel “The Process” Embiid.
Embiid can now add MVP.
The All-Star center and two-time league scoring champion, Embiid, who had long lobbied for the award, earned his first NBA MVP trophy Tuesday night, topping two-time winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
The 29-year-old from Yaoundé, Cameroon, 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. Embiid has been sidelined with a sprained right knee that cost him one game of the playoff sweep against Brooklyn and the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston, which was won by Philadelphia on Monday night.
Jokic finished runner-up in the MVP voting, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks was third. Embiid received 73 first-place votes. Jokic received 15 first-place votes, and Antetokounmpo got 12.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Embiid said. “A lot of hard work. I’ve been through a lot. I’m not just talking about basketball. I’m talking about my life. My story. Where I come from. How I got here and what it took for me to be here.”
The 76ers watched on TV in Boston and erupted in applause and started chanting “MVP! MVP! ” as the big man buried his head in his hands as he sat in a chair in the team hotel. Embiid was in tears as teammates James Harden, Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey mobbed him in celebration.
Embiid then vowed “I’ll be back” for the playoff series against the Celtics.
But as for Game 2 on Wednesday night?
“We shall see,” Embiid said.
Play or not, there will be raucous celebration for Embiid once the 76ers return home Friday night for Game. 3.
Embiid has been determined to win — and campaigned for — the MVP trophy for years. The third overall pick of the 2014 draft, Embiid missed his first two full seasons with injuries before settling in as one of the top big men of his generation. He was at his best this season when he totaled three 50-point games, including a career-high 59 against Utah in November. He had…