JOINS ALLEN IVERSON AS ONLY 76ERS TO CAPTURE THE AWARD AT LEAST FOUR TIMES
The NBA announced today that Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for games played in January. This latest award is the fourth Player of the Month honor of Embiid’s career as he becomes the first 76er to earn the award in consecutive months after being named Player of the Month for games played in December.
Embiid joins Hall of Famer Allen Iverson as the only 76ers to earn Player of the Month honors at least four times. The honor comes on the heels of Embiid’s fifth consecutive All-Star selection. He’s the fourth 76er ever to be named a starter in at least five All-Star Games, joining Julius Erving, Iverson and Dolph Schayes.
In his 14 appearances in January, Embiid averaged 34.0 points, which led all players, along with 10.8 rebounds (tied for ninth in the NBA, sixth in the East), 5.1 assists, and 1.5 blocks while shooting .542 from the floor in 32.1 minutes per game. He led the 76ers to an 11-3 record in his appearances and scored at least 25 points in each game. The only 76ers to average more points per game than Embiid in a calendar month, while appearing in at least 10 games, are Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Iverson.
Embiid and Chamberlain are the only two players in franchise history to average at least 34-10-5 over a 14-game span. With his totals in points, rebounds and assists for the month, Embiid joined Russell Westbrook as well as Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only six players in NBA history to reach such minimums over a 14-game span.
Since 1981-82, five players have averaged at least 34 points and 10 rebounds in a month, while seeing action in at least 10 contests, including Embiid in January 2022. He joins Anthony Davis (Feb. 2018), Westbrook (March 2017) and Hall of Famers Karl Malone (Jan. 1990) and Moses Malone (Feb. and March 1982).
His scoring run over the course of the month was highlighted by his career-high-tying 50-point (17-23 FG, 15-17 FT), 12-rebound and three block performance in a win over the Orlando Magic on Jan. 19. Embiid logged the fewest minutes played (27:03) in a 50-point, 10-rebound game in the shot-clock era.
This was the second game of Embiid’s career with at least 50 points, 10 boards and three rejections, making him the second player in NBA history since blocks were first tracked in 1973-74 to have multiple such games.
Earlier in the month, Embiid notched his third career triple-double with 31 points, 15 rebounds and a season-high 10 assists in a victory over the Houston Rockets. He became the sixth 76er to post at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a game and the first since Hall of Famer Charles Barkley in 1989. The others on the list include Red Kerr and Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Billy Cunningham and George McGinnis.
Through his 14 games in the month, Embiid led the league with 12 games of at least 30 points, giving him 22 for the full year, which are tied for the league lead. Embiid’s per-48-minute numbers for January were 50.8 points, 16.1 rebounds and 7.6 assists. He is the first player in NBA history to average at least 50-15-5 per 48 minutes in a calendar month, while playing in at least 10 games.
Embiid’s four career Player of the Month awards are tied with Iverson for the most in franchise history. Barkley and Moses collected two such awards as 76ers, while fellow Hall of Famer Julius Erving took home the hardware three times. Player of the Month awards were originally introduced at the start of the 1979-80 season.
This past Monday, Embiid was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played between Monday, Jan. 24 and Sunday, Jan. 30. It was his sixth career Player of the Week selection, joining Barkley (six times) and Iverson (20) as the only players ever to earn the award at least six times as 76ers since its inception in 1979-80.
On the season, Embiid is averaging 29.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.4 blocks per game, and is the only player in the NBA with such averages. The only other 76er to average at least 29-10 in a season is Chamberlain, who did so in 1965-66, when he earned MVP honors.
Denver’s Nikola Jokić was named Western Conference Player of the Month for games played in January.
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