Sixers

Joel Embiid Named to 2021-22 All-NBA Second Team

By
Matt Gregan
Author photo
Matt Gregan Sports Editor

All posts by Matt Gregan
Sports Editor

Published24 May 2022

Disclosure
We sometimes use affiliate links in our content, when clicking on those we might receive a commission – at no extra cost to you. By using this website you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy.

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Staff Writer Joel Embiid Named to 2021-22 All-NBA Second Team

Joel Embiid has been selected to the All-NBA Second Team, totaling 414 points, including 57 total votes for First Team. Accompanying him on the Second Team will be Ja Morant, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Durant.

Embiid finished with more total points than Jayson Tatum, who made the All-NBA First Team, but was held back from making the First Team due to the NBA's rule about "players who received votes at multiple positions were slotted at the position at which they received the most voting points."

It is a shame Embiid, the runner-up for the MVP award this season, will come away with only an All-NBA Second Team honor after the fantastic season he put together. He led the league in scoring, averaging 30.6 points per game and becoming the first center to achieve the feat since Shaquille O'Neal did it in the 1999-00 season. In addition to leading the league in scoring, he also averaged 11.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals per game this season.

This result was to be expected after fellow big man Nikola Jokic, who also had an excellent season, edged him out for MVP and also First Team honors. This is the biggest example yet of why the NBA should change their guidelines for All-NBA voting by eliminating positions from the equation all together.

Regardless of the All-NBA Second Team finish, Embiid continued to grow as a player by having the best season of his career thus far. He set new career-highs in games (68) as well as both free-throws made (654) and 3-pointers made (93). It was a disappointing end to the season for both himself and the Philadelphia 76ers, but he has many positive things to continue building off of heading into next season. He has now been named to the All-NBA Second Team in four out of his last five seasons.