Brad Stevens needed only one word when asked if Giannis Antetokounmpo is the NBA MVP.
“Yes,” Stevens told a group of reporters during his media session Friday.
Antetokounmpo is the favorite to win his first MVP at June’s NBA Awards show, per Vegas Insider. He and James Harden competed for the award throughout the season, splitting voters on ideological lines.
For those in Antetokounmpo’s corner, it was about season-long brilliance on both ends of the floor coupled with team success. He became the fifth player in NBA history (Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor) to average 27 points, 12 rebounds and five assists over a full season while leading the Bucks to an NBA-best 60-22 record.
Harden, meanwhile, had the best offensive season in more than 30 years. His 36.1 points per game were the most since Michael Jordan in 1986-87 and the second-most by a player not named Wilt Chamberlain. Despite dealing with lengthy absences from nearly every other major contributor on an already-thin roster, Harden led the Rockets to a 53-29 record and the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.
The question vexing many is whether those seven wins and Antetokounmpo’s defensive brilliance is enough to overcome the one-man Harden show.
In the case of Stevens, the answer is yes.
Or, at the very least, he’s trying very hard to avoid giving the Bucks any bulletin board material.
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
