Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Joel Embiid is at the top of his game this season, and Tuesday he was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player!

The 76ers star becomes the first Philly player to win the award since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson in 2001 and only the fifth MVP in franchise history.

Embiid's 2022-23 season was his best yet. He won a second straight scoring title by averaging 33.1 points and was eighth in rebounds (10.2) and seventh in blocks (1.7). He was also named Eastern Conference player of the month three times.

The honor comes after Embiid finished as MVP runner-up in 2021 and 2022.

Athletes Is Lindsey Vonn making a comeback to competitive skiing?

The Sixers believed he should have won it last season. That's when Embiid (30.6 points in 2021-22) not only became the first center to win a scoring title since NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal (29.7 in 1999-2000), but also was the first center to average more than 30 points since Moses Malone (31.1 in 1981-82).

But Jokić won the award after becoming the first player in league history to record 2,000 points (2,004), 1,000 rebounds (1,019), and 500 assists (584) in a single season.

Now it's Embiid's turn, and he joins Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Malone, and Iverson as the only Sixers to win the award.

Embiid is out with a sprained right knee while the Sixers are competing against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday at TD Garden.

The seventh-year veteran, who has a long history of being injured, sprained the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee on April 20 in Game 3 of the Sixers' first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets.