{"id":33552,"date":"2020-09-18T16:16:10","date_gmt":"2020-09-18T20:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=33552"},"modified":"2020-09-18T16:16:10","modified_gmt":"2020-09-18T20:16:10","slug":"giannis-antetokounmpo-wins-back-to-back-mvp-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/09\/18\/giannis-antetokounmpo-wins-back-to-back-mvp-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Giannis Antetokounmpo Wins Back to Back MVP Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/category\/bucks\/\" target=\"_self\">\u00a0Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> star <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a><\/strong> was named the Most Valuable Player of the Year for 2020, according to ESPN&#8217;s Adrian Wojnarowski. This is back-to-back seasons where Antetokounmpo has been named the league&#8217;s Most Valuable Player.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Milwaukee\u2019s Giannis  Antetokounmpo has won his second consecutive MVP award, sources tell ESPN.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wojespn\/status\/1306967778163789825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 18, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Giannis Antetokounmpo Wins Back to Back MVPs<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Antetokounmpo was the clear favorite to win the MVP award this season. He beat out <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardeja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harden<\/a><\/strong> who were the other finalists for the MVP award.\u00a0 Antetokounmpo became the 13th player in NBA history to win consecutive MVPs. He led the Bucks to a 56-17 record during the regular season. This is the second consecutive season where the Bucks had the best record in the league.\u00a0 Antetokounmpo adds more one more trophy to his trophy case after winning the Defensive Player of the Year this season. He became the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ESPNNBA\/status\/1306975686775705608\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">3rd player<\/a> in NBA history to win a Defensive Player of the Year and MVP in the same season. Only <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jordami01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Jordan<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/o\/olajuha01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hakeem Olajuwon<\/a><\/strong> have achieved this before him.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Add Giannis to the list of greats to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season \ud83d\udcaa<\/p>\n<p>(via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wojespn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@wojespn<\/a>) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fcx6NRzvT7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/fcx6NRzvT7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ESPNNBA\/status\/1306975686775705608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 18, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Antetokounmpo was an unstoppable force during the regular season. He averaged 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 1.0 steals in 30.4 minutes per contest. His points and rebound averages were career-highs for him.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Antetokounmpo&#8217;s Leadership and Work Ethic<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Aside from being a great player, Antetokounmpo is a leader who leads by example and a great locker room presence for the Bucks. He is a hard worker and constantly works on his game. Antetokounmpo goes so far as he finds a way to sneak into the practice facility during &#8220;lockout&#8221; days when Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer wants his players to rest. His teammates weren&#8217;t short on praise for the Bucks superstar about his leadership and his work ethic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">His teammate <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/connapa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pat Connaughton<\/a><\/strong> said, \u201cFrom what I\u2019ve seen over the last two years, he\u2019s getting to the point now where his voice is becoming heard often. But what he\u2019s always done really well is lead by example. When the best player on your team is doing that, especially on a championship team, everybody else falls in that line. He has relationships, friendships, discussions with every guy on the team and everybody wants to play for him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Bucks All-Star <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/middlkh01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Khris Middleton<\/a><\/strong> also echoed those sentiments. Middleton said \u201cHe puts his work in, before practice, after practice. He\u2019s in the weight room all the time. Guys see that. You\u2019ve got one of the best players in the league, here doing that all the time, you\u2019re going to follow.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Antetokounmpo came up in the NBA as a scrawny teenager, now he&#8217;s a two-time MVP.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"abyEncoFRkhfn9IH8bcSUw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1195905869\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'abyEncoFRkhfn9IH8bcSUw',sig:'7uUl5VPxLoQnb6NcOqAb098MPeJBrNWiI7pVghmJa-0=',w:'594px',h:'397px',items:'1195905869',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the Most Valuable Player of the Year for 2020, according to ESPN&#8217;s Adrian Wojnarowski. This is back-to-back seasons where Antetokounmpo has been named the league&#8217;s Most Valuable Player. Milwaukee\u2019s Giannis Antetokounmpo has won his second consecutive MVP award, sources tell ESPN. &mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 18, 2020 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3620,"featured_media":33569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,1608,62],"tags":[306,444,324,38,219,564,1287],"class_list":["post-33552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bucks","category-basketball","category-nba","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-james-harden","tag-khris-middleton","tag-lebron-james","tag-milwaukee-bucks","tag-nba-mvp","tag-pat-connaughton"],"modified_by":"David Ward, Associate Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3620"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}