NBA Awards Rankings: New No. 1 in MVP race
3. 89. Giannis Antetokounmpo. player. . Forward. Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo. 3.
We are (spoiler alert) back to our perennial top three. At least for now. The Bucks continue to struggle on defense. Adrian Griffin's transition to head coach has been an adventure. He has a lot of Milwaukee fans yearning for the baseline consistency of Mike Budenholzer. And yet, despite several blatant schematic problems and the unfamiliarity of the team's co-stars, Milwaukee is 21-7 — second in the East, third in the NBA.
Despite greater self-awareness of his own stardom, Giannis still doesn't give a s*** when he's on the court. He will attack the rim time and time again. He struggles at the free throw line, but that doesn't stop him from parading to the charity stripe. The 3s aren't falling this season (20.8 percent), but Giannis has embraced the interior elements of his game with Damian Lillard on the floor. He's shooting 64.4 percent on 2-point field goals, the highest mark of his career.
Antetokounmpo is averaging 30.9 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 5.4 assists on the season. His defensive playmaking remains first rate (1.4 steals, 1.2 blocks) and he's carrying Milwaukee through the turbulent waters of change with commendable poise and proficiency. The Bucks still haven't really figured out how to maximize the Lillard-Giannis pairing. The defensive scheme has shifted off balance, leaving Giannis with more messes to clean up. And yet, he pushes forward, and the Bucks continue to win. Six in a row, for that matter.
We often think back to one or two defining performances when making a player's MVP case. Giannis scored 64 points in a win over the Pacers on Dec. 13 — with 14 rebounds and four steals, to boot. He went to the free throw line 32 times in that game. The Pacers' bigs could not contain him. It's a bit boring to keep circling back to Jokic, Embiid, and Giannis as the top few, but that's where we are right now.