No. 2 – Giannis Antetokounmpo chasing his third MVP for the Milwaukee Bucks down the stretch
With the way things are currently shaping up, it doesn’t look like Giannis Antetokounmpo will be winning his third Most Valuable Player award this season. However, 18 games is enough time for Antetokounmpo to make a leap and get himself into the leading candidates for the award.
Every year, there will always be a legitimate case for Antetokounmpo as MVP. His nickname as the Greek Freak applies in the freakish stats that he puts up every year. The most impressive feat from this season when comparing previous great Antetokounmpo seasons is that he is currently tied with Wilt Chamberlain for the highest Player Efficiency Rating in NBA history, according to Stat Muse. The current record has stood for 60 years and is held by Chamberlain. Any time you’re in Chamberlain territory when it comes to any record, you have done something very impressive.
Those of us who follow the NBA closely, know that the MVP is usually a narrative-driven award. The media falls in and out of love with certain players throughout the season. One week it may seem like one guy is going to win it and then all of a sudden a player will have a hot stretch and they’ll be crowned the MVP.
Team success is a lot of what drives the narrative for the MVP and with the team currently as the third seed, Antetokounmpo winning the award is probably not going to happen as of right now. Usually, the award goes to somebody on a team with one of the top records in the NBA. In spite of that, he is not as far off from winning the award as it seems. In the most recent Kia MVP Ladder on NBA.com, Antetokounmpo is in third amongst current MVP candidates.
The Bucks are only three games out of the top seed and 1 game behind the second spot. If Antetokounmpo takes it up another notch and Milwaukee can secure one of those top couple of seeds in the East, he may find himself with another award for his trophy case when the season concludes. With 18 games left on the schedule, Antetokounmpo will have to impress on almost a nightly basis to take home his third MVP award.