It’s official…Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokumpo is the 2018-2019 MVP, beating out the reigning MVP, and Houston Rockets guard, James Harden. It was a debatable race as usual of the last few years, but in the end, the Greek Freak prevailed with the trophy.
It was stellar season for Giannis that saw him become a breakout star within this league. He had career highs in points (27.7 ppg), rebounds (12.5 rpg) and assists (1.5 apg). In addition to this, he also earned 1st team All-NBA, alongside his MVP candidate counterpart, James Harden. He was also a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year, also alongside another MVP finalist, candidate, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paul George. Despite this being an award for individual accolades, Giannis’ play this year propelled the Bucks to the best record in the NBA and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
For the 4th time in the past 5 seasons, James Harden has finished as a finalist for the MVP award but not without a fight. He also had a career high in points (36.1 ppg) and boosted the Houston Rockets from a seed outside of the playoffs to 4th in the Western Conference. One of the things that helped was his 38 game streak of scoring over 30 ppg. In fact, for the month of January, he averaged 43.6 ppg, the highest since Wilt Chamberlain. This also earned him first team All-NBA honors.
Harden has suffered some hard losses in the MVP races of previous years. He lost twice in a row to Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry and his record-setting 3 point shooting. Afterwards, he lost to OKC’s Russell Westbrook and his triple double run, despite changing to point guard and becoming a more all-around player offensively. It seems that no matter how hard he tried to be great in the regular season, it never really panned into a trophy, which is a statement people might use for his playoff performances. As for Giannis, this is his first MVP award and it might not be his last. He is a 7 foot nightmare for any opposing team, as he can storm the paint with his body and also defend anywhere on the floor when needed. He is only 24 and was just a couple of games away from making the NBA Finals. Milwaukee has reaped the benefits of what a talent of his magnitude can do so far.