Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s bid for MVP royalty

As the NBA looks to restart the 2019-20 season, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo’s quest to win his second straight MVP award hangs in the balance.

The 2019-20 NBA season is several weeks away from restarting and there are certainly plenty of pitfalls that stand in the way of everything going according to the league’s plan.

For the Milwaukee Bucks, there is certainly plenty at stake, given the resounding success they enjoyed for the second straight season and what any outcome means for their long-term future as it specifically pertains to superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

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Delving deeper, Antetokounmpo has his own reasons for wanting to pick up play again that may go beyond his and the Bucks’ hopes of winning an NBA championship.

When we last saw Antetokounmpo, he was well on his way toward perfecting his push to win a second straight Most Valuable Player award.

Between enjoying yet another career year and the Bucks standing atop of the league for the vast majority of the season, Antetokounmpo had separated himself from the rest of the field, despite worthy candidates such as Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.

Antetokounmpo had already reached immortality with his first MVP award last season, but the prospect of winning a second straight honor would vault him into rare territory among those who have received the NBA’s highest honor over the years.

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo would enter legendary territory with back-to-back MVP wins.

To date, there have been 13 players who’ve won back-to-back MVP honors, with the most recent example being Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry. Go even further and there have been three players in NBA history who have won three straight MVP awards, with those players being Hall of Famers Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird.

No bones about it, that’s elite company right there and Antetokounmpo’s unique game has obviously catapulted him within the realm of some of the very best to ever play in the NBA.

Reaching that tier, though, still hangs in the balance as we’re all not sure just how the NBA’s plans to salvage this season amid the coronavirus will affect voting for this year’s major awards. That’s certainly a minor thing to consider among the very high stakes that are in play with just trying to restart the season itself.

All of this goes to show just how painful the timing is for everyone involved amid these circumstances and in Antetokounmpo’s quest to be among those mentioned to be the best to ever play the game. The damage that could potentially be lost in the case that the league is unable to restart this season would have a great effect on Antetokounmpo’s legacy as he is arguably only reaching the peak of his powers at 25 years old.

Again, these are all small potatoes compared to the very real dangers that exists for everyone as we all try to simply live during these precarious times.

But seeing as how Antetokounmpo had semi-recently asserted himself as one of the most dominant players in the NBA today, how all this time lost will affect his legacy, longevity and overall standing within the history of the NBA will be fascinating to watch when things return to normal.