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Joel Embiid clinches NBA scoring title; first center to do so since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000

He is also the first center to average over 30 points a game since Moses Malone, in 1982.

Sixers center Joel Embiid against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, March 18, 2022 in Philadelphia.
Sixers center Joel Embiid against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, March 18, 2022 in Philadelphia.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

Whether or not Joel Embiid plays or not Sunday (he was listed as questionable early Sunday afternoon), he has officially wrapped up the NBA’s scoring title after Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out of thew Bucks’ regular-season finale Sunday afternoon with right knee soreness.

Embiid was averaging 30.6 points per game entering Sunday. If he plays against the Pistons but does not score a point, Antetokounmpo would have needed to score at least 47 points in order to surpass him (and at least 77 points if Embiid sits out Sunday).

Embiid, an MVP contender, is the first center to lead the league in scoring since Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal did so during the 1999-2000 season. The last center to average more than 30 points per game in a season is Hall of Famer and Sixers legend Moses Malone, who averaged 31.1 points per game in 1981-82 while with the Houston Rockets.

Embiid made a strong final push to clinch the title, scoring at least 41 points in three of the Sixers’ past four games.