Is Giannis Antentokoumpo best choice for MVP? NBA fans say it's clear, LeBron James 'doesn't even come close'
The NBA has been on a hiatus for over four months now and the league has announced that the regular season awards will be based on performances of players until March 11, before the games were stopped. The News Lagoon reported that this will exclude the Orlando games set to determine the "final playoff spots in each conference." As the news of the awards broke, many basketball fans took to Twitter to speak on how Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks deserves the MVP over Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James.
"Giannis has overwhelming numbers. Hard to make a case he’s not the MVP," wrote a fan.
"Giannis is literally the only correct choice for MVP. F**k all these other factors yall are trying to throw into the mix. He had the best season, and led his team to the best record. Get used to saying "back-to-back MVP Giannis Antentokoumpo,'" wrote one fan with another adding, "Giannis has a higher real plus-minus than lebron and the difference between him and lebron is the same difference as lebron and the #10 guy lol"
Many took to social media to put out the stats of both players, with many demanding the Giannis win the MVP. "It’s not about who I think is the MVP bro, it’s about what the NBA thinks an MVP. Logically Giannis is on the best team with the best stats. 2019: best player on best team 2018: best player on best team 2017: best stats and most special 2016: best player on best team," wrote a fan. Of course in the world of sports competitiveness is part of the game but many showed no mercy for LeBron, who is referred to as one of the best players in the league. "I can’t believe this is even a conversation. Giannis > Lebron for MVP and it’s not even close," wrote another.
Fans were naming their picks for the following categories, MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man. The lists almost always had Giannis in both the MVP and DYOP category.
While most fans focused on wanting Giannis to win MVP, some also said that he's also a shoo-in for Defensive Player of the Year (DYOP) "Since #Giannis is trending, just going to keep short and simple. Whether ya'll like it or not, he's going to be back-to-back MVP and a possible DPOY to... just saying #NBATwitter," wrote a fan. Even Mike Budenholzer, Milwaukee Bucks coach said that Giannis deserves the title. "Giannis, in our minds, has done more than enough to deserve a back-to-back MVP. What he does for us on both ends of the court, what he does every night, the way he sets the bar for us, culture-wise, work ethic-wise, just as a teammate. He's an incredible teammate, plays unselfishly, does everything. And I think that's kind of what the MVP is, so we certainly feel like he's very deserving, and we'll be excited to support him," said Budenholzer.
In his most recent tweet, Giannis wrote "The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary," with black and white pictures of himself in uniform. People noticed the joke with one user asking, "Did Giannis just quote Soulja Boy?"