Joël Embiid became the first foreign regular season scorer in the history of the North American Basketball Championship (NBA), with an average of 30.6 points scored per game. The Cameroonian can also dream of the title of best player (MVP). In the meantime, his team, the Philadelphia Sixers, is approaching the final phase (play-offs) NBA.
Joël Embiid entered the history of the North American Basketball League (NBA) on April 10, 2022. The Cameroonian indeed became the first non-American to finish as the top scorer in the regular season in the NBA. With his average of 30.6 points, he succeeds legends like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Wilt Chamberlain.
Joël Embiid is also the first to play as a pivot since Shaquille O’Neal, in 2000, to finish at the top of the rankings in this area. A feat all the more exceptional as the NBA is increasingly giving pride of place to basketball adapted to smaller and faster players.
The interior of the Philadelphia Sixers was neck and neck with Lakers superstar LeBron James (30.3 points) and Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo (29.9) for this honorary title. But a big performance against the Indiana Pacers with 41 points and 20 rebounds on April 9 reminded everyone who the offensive boss is this year.
And soon, the MVP?
Next step for the native of Yaoundé: to confirm in the final phase (play-offs) his sparkling form. It will be against the Toronto Raptors of his compatriot Pascal Siakam. Start of the play-offs on April 16 for the Sixers.
At 28, the Indomitable Lion seems at the top of his game, after eight seasons with the Sixers, he who runs after a first NBA final. This year, he can count on the reinforcement of the back James Harden, the best striker in the league in recent years. Together, the two stars want to snatch their first coronation.
As a result, there may be another title for Joël Embiid in June: that of best player (“Most Valuable Player”, MVP) of the NBA regular season. Five foreigners have already won the most incredible individual distinction for a basketball player: the Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994, the Canadian Steve Nash in 2005 and 2006, the German Dirk Nowitzki (2007), the Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019 and 2020) and the Serbian Nikola Jokic in 2021. The latter, pivot at the Denver Nuggets, seems very slightly favorite for the 2022 edition.
Embiid, who has started playing basketball at just 16will he be the second African to win the Maurice Podoloff trophy?
