Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid won the Most Valuable Player of the NBA 2022-23 season. Embiid edged out Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo for the award.

Joel won 73 out of 100 available first-place votes to take the award. The talisman said it took a lot of hard work for him to get the award.

“I don’t even know where to start,” Embiid said on Inside the NBA.

“It’s been a long time coming, a lot of hard work. I’ve been through a lot, and I’m not just talking about basketball, I’m talking about everything in life.

“My story. Where I come from, how I got here, and what it took for me to be here. So, it feels good. I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing.”

Embiid was congratulated by former Los Angeles great Shaquille O’Neal for receiving the big award.

“Thank you, big fella. Appreciate it,” Embiid said.

“I still remember the conversation we had a couple of years ago. I think it was three or four years ago. It was actually here in Boston, we had just played Boston.

“You guys were all on me about I gotta be dominant, and to this day, I still remember that conversation. That helped a lot and I’ve changed a lot, when it came to the way I went about my business. So thank you.”

Embiid has been in terrific form as he has been averaging a career-high 33.1 points to go along with 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game on 54.8% shooting over 66 games.

Philadelphia 76ers will take on the Boston Celtics in the second game of the series on Wednesday night.