EMBIID EARNS SIXTH CAREER PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR, JOINING BARKLEY AND IVERSON AS ONLY 76ERS TO WIN THE AWARD AT LEAST SIX TIMES
The NBA announced today that Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games between Monday, Jan. 24 and Sunday, Jan. 30. In his sixth NBA season, it’s Embiid’s sixth career Player of the Week selection. Embiid joins Hall of Famers Charles Barkley (six times) and Allen Iverson (20) as the only players ever to earn the award at least six times as 76ers since its inception in 1979-80.
Embiid led the 76ers to a perfect 3-0 week, with wins over the Pelicans, Lakers and Kings. These performances included Embiid continuing his streak of strong performances extending his streak of 25-point outings to 17 straight, which is the second-longest streak in team history.
The week saw Embiid lead the Eastern Conference in scoring at 34.7 points per game while he was the only player in the East to total at least 100 points, 35 rebounds, 15 assists and seven blocks.
Embiid averaged 11.7 rebounds go along with his 34.7 points per contest. He’s now tallied averages of 30 and 10 over 16 different seven-day spans this season, and is one of two NBA players to do so.
For the season, Embiid is the league’s second-leading scorer with 29.1 points per contest while his rebounding average of 10.8 ranks ninth. With these averages, Embiid is looking to become the second player in 76ers franchise history to average at least 29 and 10 for an entire season, joining Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain who did so in 1965-66. Just five players have posted 29-10 for a full season since 1990.
Last Tuesday against the Pelicans, Embiid posted a stat line of 42 points (12-24 FG, 18-20 FT), 14 rebounds and four assists. This marked the sixth 40-10 game of the season for Embiid which are the most in the NBA. Chamberlain (18 in 1965-66) is the only 76er ever to post more such performances in a single season. His 18 made free throws tied him for the second-most in an NBA game this season.
Just before game two of the week, Embiid was named a starter for the 2022 All-Star Game, making him the first 76ers player to be named a starter in at least five straight All-Star Games since Allen Iverson started seven straight from 2000-06. Embiid is also the fourth player in franchise history to be named an All-Star starter at least five times. In the win over the Lakers, the All-Star ended the contest with 26 points, nine boards and seven assists giving him one of his 11 games this season of 25-5-5 He’s led the team to a 9-2 record in these games.
In Philadelphia’s third game of the week, Embiid and company faced the Sacramento Kings. In the win, he posted a stat line of 36 points (10-18 FG, 14-18 FT), 12 rebounds and six assists. This marked his fifth 35-10-5 game of the 2021-22 campaign and the 12th of his career, which are the third-most in franchise history.
Embiid’s totaled 678 points, 211 rebounds and 90 assists over his last 20 games, dating back to Dec. 16. The last player to reach such minimums over a 20-game span was Russell Westbrook, who did so from March 2-April 9, 2017. The only other players ever with such totals over a 20-game period are Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson.
Embiid’s first Player of the Week honor this season comes after was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December. Embiid has earned three career Player of the Month awards, joining Allen Iverson and Julius Erving as the only 76ers to do so.
Phoenix’s Chris Paul was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played between Monday, Jan. 24 and Sunday, Jan. 30.
