Joel Embiid dropped 21 points in the 1st half of Game 5 against the Celtics
Joel Embiid has taken an expected step up from the All-NBA Second Team.
The league announced its All-NBA teams for the 2022-23 season on Wednesday night and the Sixers’ MVP center earned a First Team spot for the first time.
Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum, and Giannis Antetokounmpo joined Embiid as members of the First Team. Embiid got 87 votes for the First Team and registered 474 out of 500 possible total points.
The full voting results are below:
James Harden received six Third Team votes after averaging 21.0 points and a league-best 10.7 assists during the regular season.
According to a team press release, the last Sixers player to make an All-NBA First Team before Embiid was Allen Iverson in the 2004-05 season.
NBA
After notching a second straight scoring title with 33.1 points per game, Embiid has helped the Sixers take a 3-2 lead in their second-round playoff series vs. the Celtics. The team will host Game 6 on Thursday night and try to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Embiid has been playing through a right knee sprain suffered in Round 1 against the Nets. Though that hasn’t been easy, the 29-year-old has played 41 minutes per game over his past three outings and averaged 32.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.7 blocks in those contests.
“I need to do a lot, but that’s my job and I love the grind of it,” Embiid said following the Sixers’ impressive Game 5 win in Boston. “There’s not much to say. Got to keep doing whatever I can to protect myself. But at the end of the day, when I get on the floor I don’t think about the injury, no matter how painful it is and how much it hurts.
“I just want to compete every single possession and put myself and the team in the best positions to succeed. But day by day. You never know what can happen, whether it’s swelling, pain. You’ve just got to pray.”