In a not-so-surprising development, Milwaukee’s Giannis Atentokounmpo has won his second straight MVP Award. Los Angeles Lakers star, and four-time MVP, LeBron James came in second. Last month, Giannis beat out another Lakers star, Anthony Davis, for Defensive Player of the Year. By sweeping these two awards, Giannis has become just the third player in history to win both in the same season. The other two players: Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon. He is also just the fifth player to win both awards throughout the course of a career. David Robinson and Kevin Garnett both won the awards in different seasons.
Giannis Atentokuonmpo put together one of the most dominant and efficient seasons in NBA history, even though he played just 30.4 minutes per game. The total minutes per game was his lowest since his rookie season when he played just 24.6 minutes per game. 30.4 minutes per game is the fewest ever for a MVP winner.
The 2019-2020 MVP Award was based on player performances up until the stoppage of play due to COVID-19. For that portion of the season, Giannis averaged 29.5 points per game, 13.6 rebounds per game, and 5.6 assists per game. He also average one block and one steal per contest.
As impressive as these numbers are, they are even more so when you look at them per-36 minutes. In every 36 minutes of play, Giannis averaged 34.5 points per game. He is averaging that same total per 100 possessions. The only other players to average 34.5 points per 100 possessions are Wilt Chamberlain and James Harden.
Winning his second consecutive MVP is almost a self-fulfilled prophesy. After his win last season, Giannis had this to say to Bucks’ fans:
From Giannis' MVP celebration last year:
"Please don't call me MVP until I win it again next year."
And he freaking did it. pic.twitter.com/fdZ6LaJQlU
— Nathan Marzion (@nathanmarzion) September 18, 2020
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