Bucks’ Giannis third-youngest player to win MVP – ESPN

Giannis Antetokounmpo joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar because the 2d Milwaukee Bucks player to exercise the Most Precious Participant award. The award modified into announced on Monday at a ceremony in Los Angeles.

At just appropriate 24 years aged, Antetokounmpo modified into the third-youngest player to exercise the MVP staunch thru the final 40 seasons, at the back of Derrick Rose and LeBron James. The native of Athens, Greece, is the fifth player born out of doors of america to exercise MVP.

Antetokounmpo got 78 of the 101 imaginable first-location votes. Houston’s James Harden got here in 2d with the a complete lot of 23 first-location votes. Every voter had either Antetokounmpo or Harden No. 1 or No. 2 on their ballot.

Oklahoma City’s Paul George got here in third, followed by Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Golden Enlighten’s Stephen Curry.

“MVP isn’t about stats and numbers. It’s all about a success and all about making clear you exit there and manufacture all the pieces you would to exercise,” Antetokounmpo said Monday night. “I suspect that is what we did as a bunch of workers.”

Antetokounmpo said his father’s dying and a inform by Kobe Bryant on Twitter to exercise MVP fueled his motivation.

“With out a doubt Kobe, he is the one which started that flame,” Antetokounmpo said.

Antetokounmpo averaged 27.7 elements, 12.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per sport this season. He modified into voted a 2019 All-Important particular person group of workers captain alongside James. He modified into the main player to common 25 elements and 10 rebounds per sport on a bunch of workers with the league’s easiest story since Shaquille O’Neal did it as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999-2000.

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks made it past the main round of the playoffs for the main time since 2001. They had been somehow eradicated within the Japanese Conference finals by the Toronto Raptors.

The “Greek Freak” averaged 25.5 elements and 12.3 rebounds per sport staunch thru within the postseason.

ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this document.