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Joel Embiid Wins His First NBA Scoring Title

Going into Sunday night's regular-season finale against the Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid led the NBA in scoring.  In 68 games this

Justin Grasso

Joel Embiid Wins His First NBA Scoring Title
Joel Embiid Wins His First NBA Scoring Title /

Going into Sunday night's regular-season finale against the Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid led the NBA in scoring. 

In 68 games this season, Embiid has averaged 30.6 points per game. Earlier this week, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was the next player behind him. However, James was ruled out for the rest of the year due to an ankle sprain, eliminating the superstar's chances of winning the league's scoring title.

With LeBron out of the picture, Milwaukee Bucks' former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was next in line trailing Embiid. While Giannis' average is close, his 29.9 points per game made it difficult for him to catch Embiid down the stretch.

After Embiid scored over 40 points for the third time this week on Saturday afternoon against the Indiana Pacers, the Sixers' big man nearly put the scoring title out of reach for other contenders. 

While Giannis technically could've gone supernova to surpass Embiid in Milwaukee's Sunday afternoon game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, his chances of playing decreased as he's dealing with right knee soreness.

According to the Bucks' injury report on Sunday morning, Antetokounmpo was listed as doubtful. Roughly an hour before the Bucks and the Cavaliers were set to tip-off, Antetokounmpo was ruled out for the afternoon.

Therefore, Joel Embiid will inevitably be crowned the NBA's scoring champion for the first time in his career.

With Embiid winning the scoring title this season, he becomes the first big man to notch that accolade since NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal did it in 1999-2000.

Embiid becomes the first Sixer to win the league's scoring title since Allen Iverson last did it in 2005 for the fourth time in his career.

With the scoring title now on his resume, Embiid strengthens his MVP campaign. As the big man is more than likely in a two-player race for the personal title, Embiid's case only gets stronger with him officially leading the league in points. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_. 

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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