Philadelphia 76ers center and league scoring champion Joel Embiid earned his first NBA MVP trophy on Tuesday night, topping two-time winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
The 29-year-old from 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 played in 66 games, the second-highest total of his career, but has been hit again with injuries in the playoffs. 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 semi-finals against Boston, which was won by Philadelphia on Monday night.
Jokic finished runner-up 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.
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