"I will never beg for an MVP award" - Giannis Antetokounmpo believes he has been MVP for last 5 seasons
Giannis Antetokounmpo has had another stellar regular season, averaging 31.1 points on 55.3% shooting, 11.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists. He has also led his Milwaukee Bucks (58-23) to the best record in the league and homecourt advantage in the playoffs.
Antetokounmpo recently made some comments that went viral, as he was honest regarding the ever-changing critera for the MVP award and how there's no clear basis for it. According to TNT and Bleacher Report NBA Insider Chris Haynes, the "Greek Freak" made a comment about winning the MVP.
He said that he's very team-oriented, as he has consistently put up MVP numbers over the last few seasons. Antetokounmpo also doesn't downplays a player's skillset in making his case to win MVP:
"I'm never going to be one who discredits anybody else's work," Antetokounmpo said. "That's not who I am as a person. And I will never beg for an MVP award that I believe I deserve. I'm very proud that I'm able to play at an MVP level because that means I'm making my team very successful. That's the goal."
With the regular season set to end on Sunday and the play-in and NBA playoffs fast approaching, it's clear that Giannis Antetokounmpo has his priorities straight and focused on the main goal: to win the NBA championship.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is dark horse to win 2023 MVP award
The MVP Race has been very close between Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, with each player posting up incredible numbers. Embiid is averaging 33.1 points on 54.8% shooting, while Jokic averaging 24.5 points on 63.2% shooting.
In a tight MVP race, Embiid made some interesting comments about winning the award, in an interview with The Athletic's Shams Charania.
"Last year, I came back, I played enough games. I led the league in scoring, and obviously, Nikola deserved it, and he won it. But then again, he won as a sixth seed in the West. And then this year, I'm leading the league in scoring, I'm doing all of these things defensively … I should be making an All-Defensive team too."
Embiid's MVP comments were aligned with what Giannis Antetokounmpo said about the the award lacking a fixed criteria for the winner.
Even with the race between Embiid and Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been considered a dark horse to win the award. That's because he's averaging MVP-level numbers while also boasting the best record in the league and the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.