After months of speculation, the basketball community finally got to know the answer. Joel Embiid was named MVP of the 2022-23 NBA season, in what many agree is a deserved recognition for a player who has been putting the Sixers on his back for a while.
Embiid got the upper hand over the likes of Nikola Jokic, who had won the award in the two previous seasons, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. He obviously got emotional when receiving the news, but the 76ers big man has always said his priority is to succeed with his team.
Now, he has the opportunity to help Philadelphia challenge for a long-awaited championship. Will he live up to his MVP status and make his team a title contender? Here, we’ll look at former MVPs who couldn’t shine in the postseason after receiving the award.
LeBron James (2009-10)
LeBron James won his second straight NBA MVP award in the 2009-10 season, and by then, he was already establishing himself as the best in the league. However, the ending to that season was not great and it even led to his departure from Cleveland.
After taking down the Bulls in the first round, the #1 seed Cavaliers went home in the Conference semis after losing 4-2 to the Celtics. James had a disappointing performance in Game 5 of the series, in which he only logged 15 points as he scored just 20% of his 14 shots. He went to the locker room booed by the fans and his team got knocked out in the following game.
Derrick Rose (2010-11)
In 2011, Derrick Rose became only the second player in Chicago Bulls history (along with Michael Jordan) to win MVP. At 22, he also became the youngest winner of the accolade. However, his production took a slight decline in the playoffs.
It’s not like the Bulls’ postseason run was a failure, since they lost in the Conference finals to the star-studded Miami Heat led by the Big Three of LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. But the fact that they lost in just five games made some noise, and Rose had a field-goal percentage of 39% and shot just 24% of three-point attempts throughout the playoffs.
Russell Westbrook (2016-17)
Russell Westbrook put up some monster numbers in the 2016-17 season, which is why he was named Most Valuable Player. That Oklahoma City Thunder team wasn’t great, though, and it became clear in the postseason.
In this case, Westbrook wasn’t to blame for his team’s shortcomings, as he did everything he could to take them further. Still, they didn’t stand a chance against the Houston Rockets, who knocked them out in only five games in the first round.
