Joel Embiid Revealed As Cover Athlete for NBA Live 19

The 2018 NBA Awards took place on Monday night. Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons was named Rookie of the Year while back-up center Amir Johnson was recognized with the 2017-18 NBA Hustle Award. Joel Embiid was in the running for Defensive Player of the Year, but fell short to Utah's Rudy Gobert.

It isn't as big an honor as Defensive Player of the Year, but Embiid didn't go away empty-handed as EA Sports revealed that the Sixers big man would be their cover athlete for NBA Live 19.

NBA Live 19 will be released on September 7, 2018. Embiid joins Allen Iverson as the only other Philadelphia 76er to grace the cover of an NBA video game. A.I. was the cover athlete of NBA 2K from 2000-2004.

This past season for the Philadelphia 76ers, Embiid averaged 22.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. The 7-foot-2 native of Cameroon became a defensive force in his first full season in the league and constantly wowed fans, coaches, teammates and opponents with his range and versatility for someone his size. Embiid enters the offseason healthy for the first time coming off of Philadelphia's first playoff appearance since 2012.

Brandon Apter is a contributor to 97.3 ESPN and managing editor at SportsTalkPhilly.com. Follow him on Twitter @bapter23