Five reasons why Giannis Antetokounmpo should be an MVP candidate
By Connor Learn
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo leads Bucks in 5 statistical categories
The race for who wins most valuable player this year will likely come down to Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James and a Warrior, probably Kevin Durant or Steph Curry. Any of these players would be a deserving winner this year but the list of deserving MVP candidates should be longer. Antetokounmpo has been as valuable to his team as any player in the league and deserves to be mentioned.
Box plus/minus measures the impact a player’s presence or absence in a game makes on their team. It is a fair measure of how vital a player is to their team’s success. Antetokounmpo is fourth in the NBA in box plus/minus and value over replacement player.
In addition, he currently leads Milwaukee in all five major statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, and blocks. Only four players in NBA history have ever done that so Antetokounmpo is clearly one of the league’s most valuable players.
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Westbrook’s MVP case has been legitimized despite the Thunder being in seventh in the West. Fans have realized just how much he does for the team and appears to be willing to entertain MVP cases from players, not on the league’s best few teams. Well, Antetokounmpo has more win shares than Westbrook this year.
If NBA fans believe that Westbrook can be an MVP, then they should think about Antetokounmpo as one too. He has emerged as a real star in the NBA this season and will probably remain one for a long time; this could be the first of many MVP discussions. The Milwaukee Bucks are not to be ignored and neither is Antetokounmpo’s MVP case.