Milwaukee Bucks: Will Giannis Antetokounmpo be forgotten in MVP race?
By Dalton Sell
The Milwaukee Bucks have a generational superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and he has a chance to achieve history that very few before him have done.
Winning the league’s MVP honors in each of the past two consecutive seasons, Antetokounmpo entered this season with the rare opportunity to join Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Larry Bird as the only players to ever win the award three straight times. The odds were certainly stacked against him from the moment this season began, even more so as Giannis and the Bucks got off to a slow start.
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However, Giannis has still put together a stellar run this season by averaging 28.8 points on .565/.302/.687 shooting splits, 11.4 rebounds, and a career-high 6.2 assists per game.
His name had been gaining traction rapidly in the MVP race lately, particularly after he tied his season-high with 47 points in a 127-109 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The Bucks had finally started to find their stride at that point as they were 8-2 in their last 10 contests, but the tide has turned since then.
Will Giannis Antetokounmpo be an afterthought in the MVP race with his absences piling up for the Milwaukee Bucks?
Following his dominant performance against the Blazers, Giannis has missed Milwaukee’s last five contests due to knee soreness. It is the longest such streak of absences in his career by a fair margin, and it continues to grow.
That has given other starts across the league to raise their stock in the race as the regular season begins to wind down to the final stretch. Nikola Jokic has arguably asserted himself as the frontrunner, while Joel Embiid has picked up right where he left off since returning from his injury.
Head coach Mike Budenholzer recently revealed that although Giannis has been progressing with his return and getting more involved in shootarounds, there remains no timetable for his return. As Khris Middleton recently told reporters, the Greek Freak is looking to get back out on the court sooner rather than later. Via Bucks.com:
"“He’s itching to get back out there. We were talking about it before the game where he said the same thing about how he hasn’t missed this many games in a row in his career. He’s itching to get back out so hopefully, he’ll be back out there soon.”"
The Bucks have managed to go just 2-3 during this stretch without Giannis in the lineup, and there is unquestionably no reason to rush him back, MVP award on the line or not.
As we’ve seen in the past two years, regular season accolades are good, but they mean very little when it comes to the playoffs and chasing a championship. With the Bucks gearing up for another title run in the toughened Eastern Conference, getting Antetokounmpo back to speed will be the top priority, no matter how many more regular season games he will miss within the next month or so.
If Giannis makes his triumphant return to the lineup soon with the assurance that his knee is back to full strength, then his MVP conquest could still be achievable. However, as long as there is even remotely any soreness, it would be best to keep Antetokounmpo sidelined and let Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday hold down the fort.
Next. 3 Bucks that could go on a tear down the final stretch. dark
Adding a third MVP to his illustrious resume certainly must sound tempting, but getting prepared to make a legitimate run at his first ever title remains the goal in the end.