GIANNIS and LUKA will be owning the NBA fore the next decade +. I look forward to watching these two dominate and become the face of the NBA as Lebron/Steph etc retires.
Did you ask to switch onto Jimmy at the end of the game? "No, I didn't. I'll do whatever coach tell me to do." Did you ask for the ball at the end of the game? "No, I didn't. I'll do whatever Russ & Mike want me to do."
"Why would you ask that" Look.... Giannis is a first ballot Hall of Famer but he has been a completely free ride by the media when it comes to pretty much everything he does and says. No discussion about how the Bucks choked in the playoffs last year.... I think that some of the guys beat up for not having more post season success don't deserve it.... but if they are going to pile on everyone else, they need to pile on Giannis.....who shouldn't be MVP either, but I am sure he will get it.
This year? I think it should be James Harden.... I think the best player should get the award. I am a person that believes that Jordan should have won 10 of them. It has become an award in the NBA for whoever has the best "story".
What I found most annoying about his MVP campaign last year was how the media couldn't wait to give him his first award, during his first candidacy...and how many more first place votes he had over Harden. Everyone knew he would continue to get better and the Eastern Conference would continue to suck.
OK. I think it's tough to make a "best player" case for someone whose team wins 12 less games than someone else (it would be 63 vs 50 wins projecting out to 82 games). Harden's scoring prowess is stand-out, like with Jordan, but even there Giannis somehow scored more points per possession this season while also posting a Wilt-like rebound rate. The combination of points and rebounds per possession posted by Giannis this season is unmatched historically, far exceeding what Shaq and even Wilt (link) did in their respective primes. The only way I see to detract from Giannis's MVP case is the low number of minutes he played per game. But I dont' think it's enough to knock him off the top spot. The statistical case is otherwise too overwhelming.
You are entitled to your opinion. Giannis does not deal with teams scheming to stop him offensively like Harden does, he is in the Eastern Conference as well. Harden is the #1 player in the league under RAPTOR. James Harden led the league is VORP. James Harden led the league in WS. Harden did all the while playing with an injury for over a month and with a usage rate lower than Giannis'. Also, the record and the narrative mean little to me. The best player is the best player.
I agree with this, but I think it's also a product of him being only in his second year of super-duper star play on an elite team with high expectations. If the Bucks choke away this series to the Heat, I think the sharks will start to circle.
When the media anoints their "golden boy" they become TEFLON. We saw it with Curry. We even see it with Lillard. Luka will get there as well. Giannis is Teflon. They get protected at all costs. Harden, Westbrook has never had that privilege. Hell, even LeBron isn't completely TEFLON.
