Giannis Antetokounmpo once again finds himself in the MVP race, given his stellar performance on both ends of the court. The Milwaukee Bucks have the best record in the league too, which lends further credence to his case. But Giannis has not been the frontrunner at any point this season, which his teammate Jrue Holiday has an interesting explanation for.
“[Antetokounmpo] has been MVP too much,” Jrue Holiday said, as reported by ESPN. “He’s been doing this too much, I feel like people get bored of it. It’s kind of like the [LeBron James] effect. LeBron has done it so many times that people think that it’s normal now. And it’s not.
“But [Antetokounmpo] makes it look so easy. The first couple years that he got it, it’s like, wow, nobody can do [that], and it’s still, to this day, nobody can do what he does. He’s [on] the No. 1 team, not just in the East, but in the league.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo was named MVP in consecutive years in 2019 and 2020 but has since not won. His numbers have stayed similarly impressive, as have the Bucks. But voter fatigue has become a major problem for Giannis, and it’s easy to see where Holiday is coming from when he makes this claim.
LeBron James won MVP every year from 2009 to 2013, except for one year in the middle. In 2011, the award went to Derrick Rose. That was thanks to voter fatigue. And after he had won 4, it seemed that his greatness became normalized to the point that he stopped being in the conversation altogether. That is why Holiday is implying this is happening to Giannis.
In his last 4 seasons, Giannis has consistently averaged over 28 points and 11 rebounds per game. He has always played more than 60 games, and he has played stellar defense. He has upped his scoring average to over 31 points per game this season and has over 5 assists as well, but his greatness has been normalized to the extent that this does not make him the MVP.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Opened Up On Winning The MVP Award
Giannis Antetokounmpo is a man that cares about winning, but he isn’t one to scant the MVP award either. He has questioned what the criteria for giving it out are this season. And since he has also addressed possibly winning it once again.
“I won’t say I don’t care. I want to compete. If you say I don’t care, it’s a lie. Do I think it’s a priority for me? No. The priority for me is to get better, to help my team win a championship, and to get that feeling again.”
That is an incredible way to put it. While Giannis would undoubtedly be honored to win a 3rd MVP, he is more focused on winning it all this season. He has tasted the feeling of climbing the mountain once with the Milwaukee Bucks, and undoubtedly, another Finals MVP will mean more to him than the MVP.
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