NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo has waded into this year’s contentious MVP debate by disputing the criteria voters should consider for the prestigious award.
A two-time winner himself, Antetokounmpo is one of the leading candidates for this season’s crown along with back-to-back recipient Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers. But despite leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a league’s best 50-19 record, the dominant forward has identified one of his teammates as the roster’s most valuable asset.
“The thing that I don’t get about the MVP criteria is it changes.” The 28-year-old told The Athletic. “Like, I believe - and I know - that people are dominating. So what is the MVP? Is it the guy who scores the most points? Is it the guy who’s the most efficient? Is it the guy who is the most dominant?
“Is it the guy who is the most valuable? Sometimes, the best player isn’t the most valuable player on the team. Like, I feel like [Bucks centre] Brook [Lopez] is such a valuable player for our team. Like [the MVP criteria] just f***** - sorry for my language - it just changes. As I said again, I can’t control that. I can control only how I prepare for the game and try to be ready for the game.”
Antetokounmpo’s comments come as this year’s MVP debate reached new levels of toxicity after ex-NBA player and ESPN pundit Kendrick Perkins enraged vast swathes of the NBA community by insinuating that Jokic, this year’s frontrunner, benefitted from racial bias.
'When it comes down to guys winning MVPs since 1990, it's only three guys that won the MVP that wasn't top-ten in scoring," Perkins said on ESPN's First Take earlier this month. “'Do you know who those three guys were? Steve Nash, Jokic and Dirk Nowitzki. Now, what do those guys have in common? I'll let it sit there and marinate. You think about it.”
In the NBA’s MVP ladder, Jokic currently leads the way averaging 24 points, 12 rebounds and ten assists per game for the Denver Nuggets who sit atop the Western Conference standing. Should he win the coveted trophy once more he’ll become only the fourth player in NBA history to win three consecutive MVP trophies after Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Larry Bird.
Joel Embiid continues to make his case for the honours after finishing second in the past two seasons. The 29-year-old is a dominant presence for the 76ers averaging 33 points, ten rebounds and four assists per game.
Antetokounmpo rounds out the top three but you’d expect that order to change in the final few weeks of the regular season.
