Joel Embiid

An unstoppable bucket-getter of the highest proportion, Joel Embiid made certain that the game remembered for its “bad ending” remained slightly more miserable for the Boston Celtics. Dangerously close to allowing a 14-point lead with two-and-a-half minutes to slip away in the literal blink of an eye, the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player puts the game’s outcome on his broad shoulders, catching a pass from the top of the key. Like a boulder rolling downhill, Embiid muscles his way one step closer to his sweet spot, and then another before calmly fading into a cold-blooded 19-foot fadeaway, effectively putting a cap on an early-season Philadelphia 76ers’ victory that placed them atop the Eastern Conference standings. Already in midseason form, the dominant center overwhelmed the Celtics on the way to 27 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal, four blocks, and a 3-pointer on November 8, 2023.