Throughout his career, Joel Embiid has made it clear that rings aren't the only pieces of hardware he desires -- namely, NBA Most Valuable Player Awards -- in his quest to become one of the league's all-time greats.
"You play the game to be the best," the Philadelphia 76ers star center told ESPN last week.
"And to be the best, you've got to have something to show for it. Who has a lot of championships but [doesn't] have any individual awards? Robert Horry. Would you say Robert Horry is a top-50 NBA player [all time]?"
Horry secured seven titles in 16 seasons with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs as one of the most successful role players in league history. But Embiid knows NBA legacies can reach a different stratosphere when championships are accompanied with the league's top individual honor.
"Obviously, the main goal, and the ultimate goal, is a championship. And then, you can think about more. But you know, you got to put it all together," Embiid said. "One, two, three MVPs and a bunch of championships."
After finishing as runner-up to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in 2021 and 2022, Embiid broke through in May to claim his first MVP. And Embiid is putting up better numbers so far this season.
Thanks to performances such as Wednesday's 51-point outburst, the 7-footer is leading the league in scoring for a third consecutive campaign.
Embiid is also on pace to become the first player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1961-62 to score more points (843) than minutes played (819) in a season, helping lead Philadelphia to a 19-8 record and a top-four spot in the Eastern Conference -- even in the wake of the 76ers trading James Harden to the LA Clippers last month.
Embiid is averaging a career-high 5.9 assists per game, as new Sixers coach Nick Nurse has given Embiid more freedom to run the offense. It has translated to both team success and Embiid positioning himself, in his eyes, for more MVP hardware next spring.
And early returns are in following the season's first edition of ESPN's NBA MVP straw poll.