The Philadelphia 76ers' superstar center Joel Embiid has been named the 2022-23 NBA regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP), the league announced on Tuesday.

"I don't even know where to start," Embiid said in an interview on "Inside the NBA" after winning the honor. "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 ... it feels good. I don't know what to say. It's amazing."

Having finished second in the MVP race in the previous two seasons, both behind Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, Embiid beat both Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks this season with 75 first-place votes, many more than Jokic (15) and Antetokounmpo (12).

The three are equally matched in their individual performances. Embiid is the best scorer among them as he secured his second straight scoring title with 33.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Jokic has the most complete offensive skills of the three after almost finishing the regular season with a triple-double per game as he averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 9.8 assists in 69 games. Antetokounmpo is a better defender than the other two but he is also an epic offensive finisher who had 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.

Embiid's advantage over Jokic and Antetokounmpo is that he had unforgettable offensive dominance in a series of games and produced more highlights in March and April when the regular season came toward the end. By contrast, Jokic only played two games in April to save more strength for the playoffs. Antetokounmpo could have performed better if he had put more effort in, but he isn't motivated to go for the MVP award after winning it twice in 2019 and 2020.

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were already eliminated from the playoffs after losing to the Miami Heat 4-1 in the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs. Embiid and the 76ers as well as Jokic and the Nuggets are still competing in the postseason. Embiid sat out the previous two games because of injury, but his team won, including beating the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern semifinals. Jokic just extended the Nuggets' lead to 2-0 over the Phoenix Suns in the Western semifinals with an incredible individual offensive performance.

When asked if he will play in Game 2 against the Celtics on Wednesday, Embiid said "We shall see." If he comes, it will definitely be of great help to the 76ers because the opponents will have to alter their defense to contain him. Fairly speaking, the Celtics are one of the league's few teams that are well-equipped to guard Embiid. They have Al Horford's strong lower body to keep him from bullying into the paint and an elite rim protector in Robert Williams to provide help defense. With a five-out lineup centered by Horford, the Celtics are also capable of making Embiid pay for dropping back defensively.

On paper, the Celtics have a better chance of knocking out the 76ers to reach the East Finals. By contrast, the Nuggets can continue to count on Jokic to tear the Suns apart offensively. The Suns will miss Chris Paul for a week due to groin injury, which means they won't have their best orchestrator in at least the following two games of the series, both on the road.

If Embiid fails to reach even the East Finals while Jokic goes to the West Finals or even further, people's memories of him finally beating Jokic in the MVP race will soon be replaced by taunting Embiid of winning the regular season, but losing the more important playoffs as well as the complements on Jokic for sacrificing personal honor for the greater good of the team.

A scenario of Embiid and Jokic meeting in the NBA Finals will be more dramatic. If Embiid and the 76ers win, he will be remembered as one of the greatest centers in league history along with Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon who won everything in one season.

If Jokic and the Nuggets win, people will compare him to Michael Jordan and, again, Olajuwon, as the final winner who got their revenge on the opponent for stealing the regular season MVP from them.