Giannis Antetokounmpo, the captain and forward of Milwaukee Bucks enjoyed a stellar campaign, which has landed him the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, for the second year in a row, the NBA has announced on Friday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes the 12th NBA player to clinch the MVP award twice in a row and is the first player since Stephen Curry won the award back to back in the 2015-16 season. The Bucks skipper secured a whopping 85 1st place votes in the MVP voting results, leaps and bounds ahead of 2nd place LeBron James, who secured 16.
The 2019-20 #KiaMVP is… @Giannis_An34! #NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/J8j2NNNLZ0
— NBA (@NBA) September 18, 2020
The 25-year-old Greek is also the first player from Europe to clinch the MVP award for the second time. Giannis was also named the 2019-20 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year and became the third NBA superstar after Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon to win both awards in the same year.
ALSO READ: Giannis Antetokounmpo crowned KIA NBA Defensive Player of the Year
Even though Milwaukee Bucks’s playoff run ended against Miami Heat in the semis, the Greek forward has been absolutely magnificent in the current NBA season, where he put up career-highest 29.5 points and 13.6 rebounds, along with 5.6 assists, 1.04 steals and 1.02 blocks in each game. He also sank 83 three-pointers.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer hailed Giannis as the MVP back in summer
Months before, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer had already commended Giannis for being absolutely worthy for the coveted award.
“Giannis, in our minds, has done more than enough to deserve back-to-back MVPs,” Budenholzer said during the NBA restart bubble at Walt Disney World back in July.
“What he does for us on both ends of the floor, what he does every night, the way he sets the bar for us, culturewise, work ethicwise … he’s an incredible teammate, plays unselfishly, does everything. And I think that’s kind of what the MVP is, so we certainly feel like he’s very deserving,” the gaffer added.
After two years at Greek basketball club EFAO Zografou B.C, Giannis Antetokounmpo arrived at Bucks in 2013. Since 2017, he has been included in the NBA All-Stars, and twice in the All-NBA First Team.
— Giannis Ugo Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) September 18, 2020
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