NBA 2019: Who should be MVP - James Harden or Giannis Antetokounmpo?

The Case for Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Milwaukee Bucks have had a great 2018-19 season with Giannis leading from the front

The Milwaukee Bucks have had a great 2018-19 season. They are 57-19 with just six games to play. It’s been a meteoric rise if not unexpected but just not this soon. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been an enormous contributor to their cause.

He is sitting on the edge of being a superstar in the NBA if he isn’t already. The bucks have surrounded their supreme scorer with an array of good shooter who he can kick out to when he collapses defenses with his constant attacks on opposing rims.

The only thing that could mar this season is that Antetokounmpo hurt his ankle Thursday night in a 128-118 victory over the Clippers this late in the season. He is listed as day-day.

However, the Bucks have superseded everyone's expectations for them. The East was supposed to be a battle between Philadelphia, Boston, and Toronto. The Bucks have inserted themselves into that debate and Antetokounmpo played a large role.

As things stand, the Bucks hold homecourt advantage in the Eastern Conference playoffs once they start and are currently 32-6 at home this season.

So far this season, Antetokounmpo is averaging 27.4ppg, 6apg, and 12.5rpg for the Milwaukee Bucks. In considering the 43.2 field goals the Bucks make per game, Antetokounmpo is responsible for 16 directly or indirectly.

This represents 37% of his teams offensive outbursts per game. His field goal percentage is 58% because he dominates the game by getting into the paint at will by using his size speed and length.

He has a devasting euro step combined with his length and speed that defenders just cannot contain. Antetokounmpo has this season improved his three-point shooting which in early December was around 11.5% to 24.5% now.

If he does develop a consistent long-range stroke, he will be next to unstoppable in the near future.