Following an offseason full of trade rumors, Giannis Antetokounmpo is quietly playing at an MVP level
Looking back on the offseason for the Milwaukee Bucks, there might not have been more than a few positive things said about the team. With Damian Lillard recovering from a torn Achilles, the Bucks opted to make a win-now move by waiving and stretching the NBA legend's contract to bring in Myles Turner as a starting center to replace Brook Lopez.
Amid all of this, constant trade rumors circled around Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two-time NBA MVP and one of the best players on the planet. While rumors linked him to the New York Knicks and even the Golden State Warriors, he remains put in Milwaukee for the time being. Despite all this, he's put his head down and balled, working his way into the MVP conversation.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's Quiet MVP Case
Giannis unfortunately, falls into the same category as Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, where he's constantly putting up high-level performances every game that nobody seems to notice that he's setting records and putting up stat lines that aren't normal.
In the two seasons before this year, he's averaged 30 or more points on greater than 60.0% shooting from the field. Through seven games this season, he's averaging 32.3 points and shooting a tremendous 67.7% from the field. On top of that, he's averaging 12.6 rebounds per game, his highest average since his last MVP season in 2019-20.
NBA.com just released its updated MVP later, and Giannis currently sits in second place behind the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. While Gilgeous-Alexander is having a stellar start to the season, averaging 33.3 points and 6.3 assists per game on efficient shooting, there's a case to make that Antetokounmpo's numbers are even better.
However, as the history of the award has shown, team record matters a lot, and with the Thunder leading the league with an 8-1 record compared to Milwaukee's 5-3 record.
Does Giannis Have A Chance At Capturing His Third?
The short answer — absolutely. While Gilgeous-Alexander is going to continue to get a ton of attention, given that he's the reigning winner and on the best team in the NBA, Antetokounmpo can still make a case if he continues at this pace.
He doesn't necessarily have to lead the Bucks to the top seed in the East, but a top-four finish in the conference paired with averages of 30 or more points, 12 or more rebounds, six or more assists, and elite value on both ends of the court should have him as a finalist when it's all said and done.
If he's able to show out against Gilgeous-Alexander and other MVP candidates in head-to-head matchups, that'll only sweeten his chances at capturing a third win.