Joel Embiid Earns Eastern Conference Player of the Month Honors

Joel Embiid's spectacular performance throughout the month of December hasn't gone unnoticed around the league.

According to the NBA, Embiid has been named the Kia Eastern Conference Player of the Month. He'll share the honors alongside Utah Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell, who was named the Western Conference Player of the Month.

Prior to December, Embiid was off to what some believed was a slow start. As the Sixers center was coming off of an MVP-caliber season last year, which nearly earned him the actual hardware, the bar of expectations was sky-high for Embiid this year.

In his first 11 games, Embiid spent 32 minutes on the floor. He shot roughly 43-percent from the field and 41-percent from three while averaging 22 points per game.

While he was relatively healthy throughout the first ten games of the year, Embiid entered the health and safety protocol in early November and missed nine-straight games. Before December, he was absent for ten total matchups out of 21 games.

Back on Track

While Embiid's slightly underwhelming start to the season might've issued concern to some, the Sixers' big man proved that he could get right back on track and look like the same player as last season.

Last month, Embiid played in all but one of Philly's 15 games. Of the 14 matchups he appeared in, the Sixers star averaged just under 35 minutes on the court. During that time, he put up 29 points per game while shooting 50-percent from the field and 40-percent from beyond the arc.

He's also been a dominant defensive presence as nine of his 11 rebounds per game on came on the defensive end. In addition, he's averaged 1.4 blocks per game.

Embiid's Player of the Month honors for December of 2021 marks the third time in his career he's received the nod. He joins Allen Iverson and Julius Erving as the only 76ers players to win the award at least three times.

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