The Philadelphia 76ers' season may have come to an end this week but Joel Embiid's confidence in himself and the team hasn't wavered one bit.

The Sixers were knocked out of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics in five games in their second-round series but with a talented young team, they'll surely be back in that position again next year.

With Embiid finally healthy for the majority of the season, Philly was able to realise exactly what it can achieve with their big man on the floor.

He adds a different dimension to their team and makes them a much tougher proposition every night they step out on the floor with him.

The Cameroonian was selected to his first All-Star team this season and will no doubt be a perennial selection in the future.

For the first time in his NBA career, he'll be healthy and able to complete a full offseason of work and be part of the team's training camp and pre-season schedule to be in the best possible shape for the rigours of an 82-game campaign.

He feels this will allow him to become even more dominant on the floor. With that in mind, the 24-year-old has set himself another lofty target for next year.

"I feel like next year is definitely going to be a type of MVP season for me," Embiid said, per NBC Sports Philadelphia.

He's certainly on the right path with the way he's performing on the court. In 63 games in the regular season, he averaged 22.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.

In the playoffs, he posted 21.4 points, 12.6 boards and 1.8 blocks and he's only going to get better as he reaches his prime years.

But he knows that talent alone won't get him to the heights he wants to reach as he'll need to put in the work in the summer to improve his game, as all the best players do.

The center is keen to get back in the gym and not take too much time off but the Sixers have advised him to at least take two weeks off to recover from the wear and tear of his body, particularly since he dealt with an eye injury prior to the playoffs and had to play with a mask.

Embiid admits, however, that it'll be hard for him to follow the team's instructions.

"I love being in the gym," Embiid said. "I don't feel like taking any time off, so we're going to see how the summer goes."

With 'The Process' setting his sights on the MVP award, he's not prepared to waste any time. It may be an individual honour, but he believes it'll represent much more.

"I want to be a leader," he said. "Being considered as an MVP, that just shows you that you're bringing your team to wherever they have to go and I want to be that type of guy."

The good news for Philly is that he's only just scratching the surface and can reach another level. For the rest of the league, however, that will be bad news.

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