After a historic regular season, Giannis Antetokounmpo was awarded the 2018-19 NBA MVP award. Heading into an offseason of uncertainty, it’s only natural to look ahead at the five most likely candidates for MVP in 2019-20.
The 2018-19 NBA regular season was filled with some of the most memorable moments in NBA history. From the resurrection of Derrick Rose to James Harden‘s historic scoring streak, the NBA reminded us why it’s heralded as the league where amazing happens.
Most importantly, we saw the transcendence of MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo from a tantalizing talent to an NBA superstar. Armed with a gaudy stat line of 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game, the Greek Freak lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a league-best record 60-22 and took on a leadership role within the Bucks organization to solidify themselves as a threat in the Eastern Conference.
Looking ahead into the 2019-20 season, not only is there a shift in power (due in large part to the unfortunate injuries to Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson), but there’s also an upcoming free agency period filled with too many moving parts to account for. Predicting the next NBA MVP is all but a crapshoot.
However, as opportunities develop and with a new super-team forming in Los Angeles, it’s only right to take a look at the five most likely candidates to earn MVP honors in 2019-20 (barring injury, of course).