Milwaukee Bucks: Is Giannis Antetokounmpo the MVP So Far?
By Robby Cowles
Beat LeBron (and Kyrie, and Kawhi and the Warriors)
The last box left for Giannis to check off was about his play against the top players and teams in the NBA. As I mentioned in the original article, voters want to be sure they’re voting for the absolute best, and they want to see players prove that by beating their peers.
In just 40 games, Giannis has done just that. Excluding LeBron James (the Bucks haven’t played the Lakers yet), Giannis has battled the cream of the NBA’s crop and pretty much beat them all.
The Bucks smacked down the Warriors in Oakland and went toe-to-toe with them in Milwaukee. They’ve split two games with the Celtics in Boston, with one being another beatdown the Bucks laid on their opponent.
Against their prime rival in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors and Kawhi Leonard, the Bucks are 2-1 on the season. They’ve beaten Anthony Davis and the Pelicans, as well as James Harden and the Rockets.
The only name left on the list is LeBron, and you know that matchup is going to bring a lot of hype in NBA circles. Everyone else, Giannis has pretty much conquered.
In fact, Alex Boeder of Bucks.com put together a tremendous list of Giannis’ stat lines against the NBA’s best players and teams, and in almost every one Giannis has the better game or the Bucks got the victory
Giannis is playing his best ball against the league’s best players, and that’s exactly what MVP voters are looking for.
We’ve covered Giannis and what he’s been able to do this season so far, but what about his competitors? Who is his biggest threat right now in the MVP race?