As of right now, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the outside looking in in terms of the race for this season’s Most Valuable Player award. Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are considered by most as the three frontrunners for the coveted title, with a handful of other stars also making their case.
One of those players is Antetokounmpo, who will be looking to bag his third MVP title in 2023-24.
How Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Can Win MVP Title
2019-07-14 Giannis
Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report recently conjured up a list of sleepers for this season’s MVP title. Along with Antetokounmpo, the other superstars that were included on the list are Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brunson, and Kawhi Leonard.
Quite the competition, right?
However, for Giannis, Swartz points out that the eight-time All-Star’s numbers have not dipped despite the arrival of Damian Lillard. In fact, Giannis is now dishing out a career-high 6.4 assists, on top of him owning the highest usage rate in the entire NBA next to Doncic.
According to Swartz, the Bucks talisman’s clearest path to the MVP title lies in his team’s ability to get things right:
“For Antetokounmpo to win a third MVP, the Bucks simply have to figure things out.
“This is a narrative that could work in his favor. The coaching circus that’s plagued Milwaukee over the last nine months could be seen as a major obstacle that Antetokounmpo can overcome, something none of the other candidates have had to go through,” wrote Swartz.
Fair point.
Swartz does not expect Milwaukee to dethrone the Celtics as the kings of the East — for the regular season, that is — but that does not mean Giannis can’t be an MVP frontrunner sans the top seed:
“The Bucks aren’t going to win the East, but they could climb back up to No. 2 overall in the standings and finish with 50-plus wins.
“If Antetokounmpo continues to put up monster numbers and Milwaukee gets back to playing elite basketball, the eight-time All-Star will have a chance at some more hardware,” wrote Swartz.
This all sounds good to me.
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