Joel Embiid "spoke" NBA MVP Award into existence in 2014
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Joel Embiid had this tweet in the drafts.
About an hour after Embiid won the first NBA MVP Award of his career Tuesday night, he highlighted a tweet he sent in 2014.
"SPOKE IT INTO EXISTENCE," Embiid tweeted Tuesday night.
SPOKE IT INTO EXISTENCE https://t.co/XW4QKuuLqH
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) May 3, 2023
A couple months after getting drafted by the Sixers, Embiid jokingly tweeted: "MVP rankings in a couple years" with him ranked above NBA greats LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and others.
MVP rankings in a couple years pic.twitter.com/t7iIACs9f6
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) August 19, 2014
Embiid was a little bit off, but not completely wrong.
Embiid sat out the first two years of his career dealing with injuries, so it took him a while to get on the basketball court. He finally won the NBA MVP nine years after sending the tweet, not two.
In the past two seasons, Embiid finished as an MVP finalist behind Denver's Nikola Jokić, but he crushed the voting this year.
Embiid won 73 of the 100 first place votes. Jokić had 15, while Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo got 12.
A video released by the Sixers on social media showed Embiid and the team's reaction once he won the award.
After the announcement, Embiid was overwhelmed with emotion. His Sixers teammates surrounded him and celebrated the milestone.
Embiid is currently dealing with a sprained LCL in his right knee. His status for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday night vs. the Boston Celtics is unclear at this time.