3 Crucial games left that could bolster Giannis Antetokounmpo's 2023-24 MVP case

According to the last NBA MVP Ladder, Giannis Antetokounmpo currently ranks third in the running, coming in just under Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

He's in the race for his third award, but at the same time, he seems to be missing something, at least from the league's perspective. He hasn't been higher than third all season despite some outstanding performances, and it feels the only reason he's even that high is because Joel Embiid is out of the race due to the 65-game rule.

But what's missing? That's actually hard to tell. It can't be the team record because the Bucks aren't that far from the Nuggets and the Thunder. It can't be the stats because he's on pace to become the first player in NBA history to average more than 30 points a game while shooting over 60 percent from the floor, so we could consider this the most efficient season ever. So, it has to be the narrative.

Narratives are actually harder to rewrite. Team records and stats are somewhat in control of the player, but narratives are not, and they can be super unpredictable. Sometimes team success matters the most. Sometimes being super good on an average team makes for a good case. Sometimes it's all about individual stats... But funny enough, they rarely just try to answer the only question they should be asking themselves, which is who's the best player in the NBA?

However, even though narratives are out of their reach, players can, of course, influence them with their performances on the court. The Bucks still have to play 16 games, so Giannis can boost his chances with a strong finish, but there are some key nights where he will have a better chance to enforce himself as the best of the best.

All of the games matter the same in the standings, but not in media narratives, so let's see which are the three upcoming matches that could help his case the most.

They will be ranked from lower to higher potential impact, starting next with number three.