Giannis Antetokounmpo holds second-highest MVP odds for 2020-21 season
A month after winning his second straight MVP award, Giannis Antetkounmpo holds the second-highest odds to win next season’s MVP honor by a sportsbook.
For the last two seasons, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has asserted himself as the league’s Most Valuable Player. But is it possible for Antetokounmpo to come away with the honor for a third consecutive time?
Per SportsBetting.com, Antetokounmpo currently holds the second-highest odds for next season’s MVP award, ranking only behind Dallas Mavericks superstar guard, Luka Doncic.
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Clearly, dolling outs MVP odds when we’re not even a week out from this unprecedented 2019-20 NBA season just wrapping up can look a little foolhardy, especially when there are major hurdles standing in the way before we see what next year’s campaign will look like.
But the premise of Antetokounmpo of winning his third consecutive MVP honor is certainly interesting, if not a little more optimistic than was the case for the Greek superstar this season.
Of course, the level of playoff disappointment that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are dealing with this offseason makes the frustrations they felt losing to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals look like child’s play.
That can certainly be seen in the subsequent scrutiny that Antetokounmpo and the organization as a whole have been met with over the last month. Given their playoff disappointment, this year being far greater than the last, some of it is clearly deserved.
For as immense Antetokounmpo’s presence is to the Milwaukee Bucks, the playoff disappointment he and the team has felt over the last two seasons will certainly affect next season’s MVP race.
There’s no way around the fact that whatever voter fatigue that currently exists around Antetokounmpo in light of his own playoff struggles this year will hinder his case for next year, however deserving he’ll inevitably be. The fact that the Bucks have fallen short of reaching the NBA Finals for two years running only bolsters that theory.
In many ways, that will set the tone for the kind of campaign that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks will be coming up against, even as they’re slated to make significant roster changes this offseason.
The old adage “fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me” certainly applies to this conversation and how the Bucks will be viewed in their run to reload and make good on their promises of contending for an NBA championship.
Antetokounmpo has and will undoubtedly continue to bear the brunt of criticism from the Bucks falling short of their ultimate goals over the last two seasons. All while the uncertainty surrounding his future in Milwaukee is gradually reaching a fever pitch, especially as he will be offered a supermax extension this offseason.
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Antetokounmpo’s two MVP wins have cemented his rise as one of the top players standing in the league today. Whether he will eventually add a third MVP honor next season or even beyond remains to be seen, but whatever achievements he enjoys next season will eventually be met with some level of pushback in the eyes of awards voters.