The Philadelphia 76ers just beat their bitter rivals, the Boston Celtics in a tense regular-season game that might have sealed the MVP for Joel Embiid.
Philly had coach Doc Rivers was astonished by Embiid’s 52-point performance to lead the team to the win and claimed that the MVP race is over.
“There are so many things we did wrong but what we did right was Joel Embiid. The MVP race is over, like really. Tonight, we couldn’t make shots. We had guys missing wide-open shots, the man just scored half our points in an NBA game. I am biased but the MVP race is over.”
"The MVP race is over. … The man just scored half our points, in an NBA game."
Doc Rivers on the MVP race 🗣 https://t.co/sFzTtMvDvC
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 5, 2023
Embiid has had a hard time going against the Celtics in his career, with more losses than he would have ever imagined. With both teams headed on a collision course for a second-round matchup in the East, it’ll be interesting to see if Embiid can replicate this in the postseason.
Is The MVP Race Actually Over?
The 2022-23 MVP race is arguably one of the closest in modern history, with a three-way battle stretching into the final week of the season. Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are looking for their third MVP trophy while Embiid is still looking for his first.
The Jokic vs. Embiid narrative has been heavy this season and with the Nuggets losing to the Rockets in a game Jokic scored just 114 points and played 24 minutes, most people are giving the award to Embiid over Jokic now. Giannis is a wildcard contender for the trophy by virtue of his consistent excellence, but Embiid may have taken the narrative into his own hands tonight.
Embiid is averaging 33.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.7 blocks this season and needs to outscore Luka Doncic by 14 points over the last 3 games of the season to clinch the scoring title for a second consecutive year.
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