Milwaukee Bucks: Who is in consideration for 2018-19 NBA awards?

Most Valuable Player

In contention: Giannis Antetokounmpo

No player has been as dominant this season wire-to-wire as Giannis Antetokounmpo. He came storming out of the gate, leading the Bucks to a 7-0 start, and never let up as he propelled this team to the best record in the league.

Antetokounmpo is averaging career highs in points (27.7), rebounds (12.5) and assists per game (5.9). He does so without sacrificing efficiency, ranking top-10 in true shooting and effective field goal percentage. No player has scored more points at the rim than the Greek Freak, nor shot a higher percentage, as he was simply unstoppable inside.

Giannis dominated the competition in Player-Impact Player Metric (PIPM), also ranking first in the league in Player Efficiency Rating, defensive rating and win shares per 48 minutes. He was not only the best player on the best team, but his level of production and efficiency is unprecedented.

There is only one true challenger to Antetokounmpo winning the MVP award, and that is James Harden of the Houston Rockets. Harden has the advantage in some metrics such as Box Plus-Minus and Real Plus-Minus, in addition to his utterly unbelievable 36.1 points per game. Yet he is a defensive liability despite the steal numbers, is not as efficient and has not seen the same level of team success.

Harden is having a historic offensive season and absolutely deserves to be considered, but the player who deserves to win is clear. Giannis Antetokounmpo has had the best season in the league and deserves to receive the league’s highest honor.

Picks: Giannis Antetokounmpo (1st), James Harden (2nd), Stephen Curry (3rd), Damian Lillard (4th), Kevin Durant (5th)