Giannis Goes Back to Back

Giannis Antetokounmpo, aka “The Greek Freak”, has won the Most Valuable Player Award again after another very impressive season.  At 25 years old, Giannis is already a superstar and one of the most dominant players in the league.  At 6’11” and 242 lbs he moves like a guard and can play any position.  This year he led the Milwaukee Bucks to the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference averaging 29.5 points per game, 13.6 rebounds per game, 5.6 assists per game, 1 steal, and 1 block per game.

Giannis’s closest competition for MVP was 4-time MVP LeBron James who at 35 years of age led the Los Angeles Lakers to the 1st seed in the Western Conference averaging 25.3 points per game, 10.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds per game, 1.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game.  Many argue that LeBron deserved the award for his success in the better conference and for leading the league in assists. However, the voters sided with Giannis this year.

Unfortunately for Bucks fans, their regular-season success did not translate to the postseason.  They beat the 8 seed Orlando Magic in 5 games in the first round then lost to the 4 seed Miami Heat in 5 games in the second round.  This is not the kind of postseason performance that is expected from the 1st seed with the reigning MVP.  This playoff shortcoming has led many to question Giannis’s ability to lead a championship-caliber team.  Former all-star and NBA champion Richard Jefferson took to twitter to propose that Giannis “might be a Pippen… He needs his Jordan,” referring to the great duo of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen who won 6 championships in the ’90s.

It seems clear that something needs to change in Milwaukee as they could only win one game against the 4 seed Miami Heat.  Giannis is a free agent this offseason so Bucks management will try to do whatever they can to keep their star player.  Many suspect they will try to trade for a star point guard to pair with all-stars Giannis and Khris Middleton.  Whatever they do it may not be enough to keep their MVP and Defensive Player of the Year who is hungry for a championship.