Joel Embiid of Yaounde, Cameroon has put together a fabulous season for the Philadelphia 76ers. In fact, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers of Chicago, Illinois believes it is so strong, on Tuesday night he stated, “the MVP race is over” according to Brad Botkin of CBS Sports.
Rivers’s comments came after Embiid recorded the fifth 50-point performance of his NBA career. On Tuesday, he scored 52 points in a 103-101 win over the Boston Celtics.
Embiid made 20 of 25 field goals, and 12 of 13 free throw attempts. He added 13 rebounds for the double-double, six assists, two blocks, and was a +17.
This was the third time this season that Embiid reached the 50-point plateau in a game. He also had a career-high 59 points in a 105-98 76ers win over the Utah Jazz on November 13, and 53 points in a 131-113 76ers win over the Charlotte Hornets on December 11.
In Embiid’s first two 50-point games, he scored exactly 50 points. His first 50-point game came on February 19, 2021 in a 112-105 76ers win over the Chicago Bulls. Embiid’s second 50-point game came on January 19, 2022 in a 123-110 76ers win over the Orlando Magic.
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In 2022-23, Embiid leads the NBA with 33.3 points per game. The other player in contention for the NBA MVP conversation is Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic of Sombor, Serbia, who is close to averaging a triple-double. Jokic, who has won the NBA MVP the last two seasons, has 24.8 points per game, 11.9 rebounds per game, and 9.8 assists per game.
The 76ers have the third best record in the NBA. They have a record of 52 wins and 27 losses, with three games left on their regular season schedule.
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