Embiid hopes ‘improbable’ path to MVP will inspire
National Basketball Association (NBA) MVP Joel Embiid hopes to be a role model of perseverance after overcoming extraordinary odds, the Philadelphia 76ers center said on Wednesday, May 3.
The Cameroonian All-Star is only the second African to earn MVP honors, after Nigerian-American Hakeem Olajuwon from the Houston Rockets won for the 1993-1994 season, and said he never predicted a future in the NBA when he began playing.
“The probability of someone like me you know, started playing basketball at 15, to get the chance to be the MVP of the league is, I’d say, negative-zero,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of opportunities back in Africa in general to get to this point.
“But, you know, improbable doesn’t mean impossible.”
The seven-foot titan led the Sixers to their third straight Eastern Conference semifinal this year, where they led the Boston Celtics 1-0 ahead of Wednesday’s Game 2.
But his career almost never got off the ground. He nearly quit the sport months after going third overall in the 2014 draft, when his younger brother died in a car accident.
“I felt like it was kind of my fault because I left Cameroon, I left, you know, my family. I felt like I should have been there to do something,” said Embiid, who missed the first two seasons of his career with a broken foot.
“I’m just glad that I pushed through it and I’m here sitting in front of you guys having accomplished something that a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to.”
‘Win everything’
Embiid, who came second in MVP voting to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in the last two seasons, produced an undeniable MVP campaign this time around, averaging a career-high 33.1 points per game, with 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
“I went through a lot, and that’s just a validation that the sacrifices and everything you went through, it’s paying off in some ways,” Embiid said. “Obviously, winning a championship is going to be way better, and we have that opportunity. But I’m just competitive.
“I want it all. I want to win everything that I can get my hands on, and everybody around me knows that. … I know I’ve always said I don’t care (about MVP), but it was just for you guys to leave me alone and not ask me questions about it. But I do care in the way that it validates all the work that you put in. And just to be sitting here, it’s amazing.”
Embiid gave credit to 76ers star James Harden, the 2017-18 MVP for the Rockets. The three-time scoring champion has made adjustments in his game to mesh with Embiid and the partnership is thriving in their first full season as teammates.
“I think since he’s been here, he won’t tell me, but I think he kind of made it his goal for me to be the MVP,” Embiid said of Harden. “He’s given up a lot. I’ve always said he is the best playmaker I’ve ever played with, and he’s the best playmaker probably in the NBA.
“He was just extremely happy for me, just like all (of my teammates) were. And that meant a lot for me. That meant a lot to me to know that your teammates care about you as much as I care about them.” – Rappler.com