76ers center Joel Embiid won his first NBA MVP title on Tuesday night, and his teammate James Harden was stoked for him.
One day before Philadelphia takes the court for Game 2 vs. the Celtics in round two of the 2023 NBA playoffs, Harden had quite the surprise for the star center.
Harden gifted Embiid a brand new Rolex watch that had “23 MVP” engraved on it. A video captured the moment that Harden gave his teammate the watch as he expressed how “proud” he was of Embiid for earning the league’s highest individual award.
Embiid went on to show everyone in the area surrounding them what he called his very first Rolex.
“My first Rolex.” - @JoelEmbiid
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 3, 2023
courtesy of @JHarden13 🥹 pic.twitter.com/Yljsi9F2rP
On Tuesday, the 76ers center’s teammates were all huddled in a room watching Embiid be named this season’s MVP. Shortly after the announcement, Harden tweeted a congratulatory message on Twitter for the 29-year-old.
long overdue, well deserved… #Uno pic.twitter.com/UM4QzmVSVQ
— James Harden (@JHarden13) May 3, 2023
Embiid finished the 2022–23 regular season averaging 33.1 points per game to lead the league in scoring, adding 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in his 66 appearances. He earned 73 first-place votes for MVP, while Nuggets center Nikola Jokić received 15 first-place votes and Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo received the remaining 12.