Five reasons why Giannis Antetokounmpo should be an MVP candidate
By Connor Learn
2. One of the NBA’s premier franchise centerpieces
Part of being a sports fan is not just following the games as they come, but speculating what will happen in the future. There is only a certain number of teams with a real shot at championship contention in any given season and the hope for a brighter future keeps many fans interested. So while many NBA fans follow Lebron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant because they have title aspirations soon, many are following the class of which players will get that level in the future. There is a lot of young talent in the NBA and a lot of discussion over who will own the future of the league.
There are a lot of talented young players in the league right now who could become franchise centerpieces. D’Angelo Russell, Devin Booker, Joel Embiid and Myles Turner are some in a class of players with a lot of potential. However, there are other young players who have taken the step that Antetokounmpo has and have become franchise players, such as Kristaps Porzingis.
Anthony Davis was the lone NBA franchise player under the age of 24 before last year. Karl-Anthony Towns joined Davis as a young franchise player with his play last year. Porzingis is playing well in New York City and fans have been quick to add him to this class. Antetokounmpo belongs to it as well. He trails only Davis in player efficiency rating among players under 24 and third place isn’t particularly close. His play has elevated his status in terms of most valuable team building pieces near the top and depending on who you ask, potentially the very top.