NBA: The upcoming MVP – and also GOAT?

Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee Bucks enchanted the league in the first few games with one gala after another. Many people already see the Greeks as legitimate MVP candidates. Others go one step further and believe that Giannis can become the best player of all time.

The last 31 seconds of the match against Portland revealed a lot about Antetokounmpo – his game, his gaps, but also his unique skills. First he threw both free throws at 109:110, then he stole the spalding from Evan Turner, drove into transition and blocked the possible winner of Blazers-Center Jusuf Nurkic as a cherry on top. What a game and what an outstanding performance by the Greek, who also scored a personal best score of 44 points.

After four games, Giannis has now scored 147 points. In 50 years of Milwaukee Buck’s history, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was able to produce roughly the same number of points as Milwaukee Bucks in 1972 (142). 44 points or more was achieved by a certain Brandon Jennings (formerly known as Rookie 55) for the franchise. But he is now playing in China. A fate that Antetokounmpo will not blossom.

Because the Greek Freak is certainly not a flash in the pan. In the games played so far Giannis scored an average of 36.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists with a throwing rate of almost 66 percent. The praise from all parts of the country was received by the Greeks – especially from the victims of the number 34:”Giannis is a force of nature”, moaned Damian Lillard after the bitter bankruptcy of his team. Turner was also perplexed:”I thought I defended him well,” but this was indeed the case, but Antetokounmpo was simply too good and sunk 17 of his 23 throws out of the field.

After having already won the Most Improved Player Award last season, Giannis now seems to be far too much more qualified. In 2016/17 he already had a few MVP voices, this time it should be much more, especially if Milwaukee wins the 50 victories and secures his home advantage. The example of Russell Westbrook has shown that the prestigious trophy does not necessarily have to go to a player from a top team.

I’m sure Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens will agree. His team was the first to feel the force of the 22-year-old. With 16 points, he almost turned the game in the final quarter on his own and amazed the Garden with his drives a few times. The unbelievable Alley-Oop-Dunk over Aron Baynes (RIP!) was just the crowning glory:”Anyone who has seen Giannis play today will think that this is an MVP candidate”, Stevens had to acknowledge without envy.

Antetokounmpo showed some new facets in his game. The forward went into the post office in the first three games more, played with his back to the basket. Most of the time his opponents are smaller. So the opponents have the choice: Do we trust the one-on-one and hope that the Greek will be forced to a jumper or do we send the help?

Either way, no alternative is really convincing. Due to his athleticism and his much stronger body, the 15th year of life can be a great success. Pick from the year 2013 meanwhile push his opponent a little bit backwards and move closer to the basket. If the help comes, Antetokounmpo finds the free man – also on the Weak Side. The result is the open threesome.

That sounds suspiciously like LeBron James – right. Even the king was amazed a few times at what the Greek man made out of his little hand:”He has the skillset, he has the talent and he has a great coach,”praised the king. Jason Kidd is one of the best point guards of all time and for Giannis it is a real stroke of luck. Kidd was the one who named Antetokounmpo 2014 as his playmaker and thus sharpened the youngster’s playing intelligence and perceptiveness. Due to its size, the Greek player can overlook the entire field and now plays passes like only the absolute point guard elite does.

The absurd: Antetokounmpo dominates the first week of the NBA without a jumper. He almost exclusively takes his degrees near the basket. Doesn’t the League know the zone needs to be barricaded? The answer is simple. You are aware of this, but simply cannot prevent it. Giannis can use the footsteps to turn the defenders around or simply leave them standing with their enormous explosiveness.

Jae Crowder, for example, also found out that the once spindlesick teenager can now force his opponents away heartily. Such absurd statlines with field throw rates of around 66 percent can thus become normal. Now imagine that the boy learns how to constantly throw the spalding from the middle distance or from far out into the basket. The way Turner defended, I’m sure it won’t work.

Page 1: Point Guard, force of nature and upcoming MVP

Page 2: Searching for the Limit – new GOAT?