The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are currently in a second-round playoff battle between two of the best teams in the NBA, hoping to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Ahead of Game 2 of this second-round series on Wednesday night, the league announced that superstar center Joel Embiid had won his first NBA MVP award.
Embiid was in what many considered to be a two-man race for the regular-season award with two-time MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, but even though Jokic made a solid case to win a third straight MVP award, Embiid’s peers felt it was his award to lose.
Celtics star Al Horford was asked about Embiid winning the MVP award after practice on Wednesday and admitted that the 76ers superstar deserves the award for what he was able to do during the 2022-23 regular season via Celtics on NBC Sports Boston.
Al Horford reacts to Joel Embiid winning MVP 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/4cvAUNob94
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 3, 2023
Unfortunately for Embiid, the veteran center is dealing with a sprained knee, which kept him out of Game 1 of this second-round playoff series with the Celtics.
However, even though the team didn’t have the eventual MVP leading the way in the first game of the series, James Harden was able to shoulder the load and lead the team to a win over the Celtics in Boston.
With a 1-0 series lead, Embiid is expected to get back on the floor for the 76ers on Wednesday night for Game 2, which is a great sign for Philadelphia, as the team could take a commanding 2-0 series lead before the series heads to the Wells Fargo Center for Game 3 and Game 4.
NEXT: Joel Embiid Shows Off A Legendary Past Prediction