“If God can bless me with an MVP again, I’ll take it” – Giannis Antetokounmpo with slick take on MVP debate
Giannis Antetokounmpo seems completely unbothered by the ongoing discussion around the MVP race. With the end of the NBA's regular season right around the corner, players are making their final cases for the coveted award. For Antetokounmpo, he'll let his play speak for itself.
On a mission to win another NBA championship, Antetokounmpo believes that if another MVP is in his future, then it's because it was meant to be. While fans and analysts debate whether the award should go to Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic, The Greek Freak simply wants to win.
With the MVP discussion dominating NBA headlines as of late, many believe it's anyone's race. Although Jokic was an early favorite to win the award, the dominance of both Embiid and Antetokounmpo complicates things. During a recent interview with Yahoo Sports, he spoke about the MVP race.
“I won’t say I don’t care," Antetokounmpo said. "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, to get that feeling again. If God can bless me with an MVP again, I’ll take it.”
You can see some of his highlights from this season in the video above.
Giannis Antetokounmpo weighs in on Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid's cases for MVP
At present, the MVP race is dead even according to FanDuel. Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid both sit with +110 odds to win the award, while Antetokounmpo is third with +500 odds.
After Embiid sat out against the Denver Nuggets on Monday, many questioned whether Jokic and Antetokounmpo would gain an advantage.
The way Giannis Antetokounmpo sees things, the other men make strong cases for the award.
Of Jokic, Antetokounmpo said:
“I see one guy that helps his team win. I see a guy that understands the game of basketball, plays the game of basketball the right way. I see a guy that’s very competitive, plays to win. He’s a good guy. He’s a great human being. He has a great support system behind him, his brothers, his wife.”
Of Embiid, he said:
“I see a guy that’s hungry, that plays with a chip on his shoulder to help his team win games. He’s tried to be available for them as much as he can. Because he had the ailments early but now he’s here and he’s dominating every other night and dominating every big he plays.
"A guy that you know draws so much attention to himself, makes his teammates better.”
The way The Greek Freak sees things, both are unbelievable competitors. With Antetokounmpo and Embiid potentially set for a playoff clash, only time will tell whether or not he and Jokic face one another in the NBA Finals.