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Giannis Antetokounmpo remains the clear favorite to win MVP in a straw poll of 70 media members conducted by ESPN.

Antetokounmpo earned 60 of the 70 possible first place votes.

LeBron James ranked second in the poll, finishing either first or second on 68 of the 70 polls while finishing third on one and fourth on another.

Before the NBA season was suspended, ESPN began pushing a narrative that James had closed the gap on the MVP race on Antetokounmpo despite the overwhelming case for the reigning MVP. Several media members on ESPN supported James' case by citing specious factors such as the passing of Kobe Bryant, his response to the China controversy and also his age.

Via Tom Bontemps/ESPN

Number 1 in the West the tougher conference.. His team sucks with him on the bench.. Just came off back to back wins where he outplayed Giannis and Kawhi.. Giannis is certainly worthy of MVP and his only competition is LBJ.. But with the season suspended well no further cases can be made..

...his response to the China controversy

Wait, why should his response to that help him get MVP? Wasn’t his response absolutely terrible and selfish and just looking out for his own bottom line?

How the hell would that help him win MVP?

Wow you really idolize the guy

Vegeta10176 wrote:Number 1 in the West the tougher conference.. His team sucks with him on the bench.. Just came off back to back wins where he outplayed Giannis and Kawhi.. Giannis is certainly worthy of MVP and his only competition is LBJ.. But with the season suspended well no further cases can be made..

Giannis: Swept the Clippers, outplayed LeBron in December

Nice try


(Also outplayed LeBron from October to March but I guess that's besides the point)

Revived wrote:

...his response to the China controversy

Wait, why should his response to that help him get MVP? Wasn’t his response absolutely terrible and selfish and just looking out for his own bottom line?

How the hell would that help him win MVP?

Exactly. Someone got mixed up when writing that.

Consider the MVP award. It is the award for the player if who was taken off their team, the team would suffer greatly.

Was Kawhi Leonard the MVP for the Raptors last year? He probably was, but here we are this year and the Raptors have a better record without Kawhi, than they did with him. He would have challenged Giannis for best player if not for load management, but because his absence does not make the Raptors significantly worse, could he have been the MVP?

So is the MVP award not somewhat relying on a huge drop-off in talent from that player's performance to the rest of the team? Is that a compliment to the rest of the team?

Without the extraordinarily talented Antetoukounmpo, the Bucks got exposed by a good but hardly great Pacers team. Without their superstar, the Bucks are just a middle-of-the-road team, a fringe playoff team at best.

http://woelfelspressbox.com/2020/02/bucks-are-vastly-different-team-without-giannis/

The bias is strong with this article.

The media is wrong. Lebron is the MVP.

Dennis 37 wrote:Consider the MVP award. It is the award for the player if who was taken off their team, the team would suffer greatly.

Was Kawhi Leonard the MVP for the Raptors last year? He probably was, but here we are this year and the Raptors have a better record without Kawhi, than they did with him. He would have challenged Giannis for best player if not for load management, but because his absence does not make the Raptors significantly worse, could he have been the MVP?

So is the MVP award not somewhat relying on a huge drop-off in talent from that player's performance to the rest of the team? Is that a compliment to the rest of the team?

Without the extraordinarily talented Antetoukounmpo, the Bucks got exposed by a good but hardly great Pacers team. Without their superstar, the Bucks are just a middle-of-the-road team, a fringe playoff team at best.

http://woelfelspressbox.com/2020/02/bucks-are-vastly-different-team-without-giannis/

Put Lebron on the Bucks and he would have them in first in the East, put Giannis on the Lakers and they would be no where near where they are now.

Lebron is MVP. He means more, and can do more, than Giannis can for any team.

alienpick wrote:

Dennis 37 wrote:Consider the MVP award. It is the award for the player if who was taken off their team, the team would suffer greatly.

Was Kawhi Leonard the MVP for the Raptors last year? He probably was, but here we are this year and the Raptors have a better record without Kawhi, than they did with him. He would have challenged Giannis for best player if not for load management, but because his absence does not make the Raptors significantly worse, could he have been the MVP?

So is the MVP award not somewhat relying on a huge drop-off in talent from that player's performance to the rest of the team? Is that a compliment to the rest of the team?

Without the extraordinarily talented Antetoukounmpo, the Bucks got exposed by a good but hardly great Pacers team. Without their superstar, the Bucks are just a middle-of-the-road team, a fringe playoff team at best.

http://woelfelspressbox.com/2020/02/bucks-are-vastly-different-team-without-giannis/

Put Lebron on the Bucks and he would have them in first in the East, put Giannis on the Lakers and they would be no where near where they are now.

Lebron is MVP. He means more, and can do more, than Giannis can for any team.

My reference was more to last year, but you are correct, LeBron can carry teams.

alienpick wrote:

Dennis 37 wrote:Consider the MVP award. It is the award for the player if who was taken off their team, the team would suffer greatly.

Was Kawhi Leonard the MVP for the Raptors last year? He probably was, but here we are this year and the Raptors have a better record without Kawhi, than they did with him. He would have challenged Giannis for best player if not for load management, but because his absence does not make the Raptors significantly worse, could he have been the MVP?

So is the MVP award not somewhat relying on a huge drop-off in talent from that player's performance to the rest of the team? Is that a compliment to the rest of the team?

Without the extraordinarily talented Antetoukounmpo, the Bucks got exposed by a good but hardly great Pacers team. Without their superstar, the Bucks are just a middle-of-the-road team, a fringe playoff team at best.

http://woelfelspressbox.com/2020/02/bucks-are-vastly-different-team-without-giannis/

Put Lebron on the Bucks and he would have them in first in the East, put Giannis on the Lakers and they would be no where near where they are now.

Lebron is MVP. He means more, and can do more, than Giannis can for any team.

I'm a Lakers fan but this is beyond ridiculous. If Giannis had AD as his second best player instead of Middleton, there would be no point in having the playoffs at all. That may be the scariest duo the league has ever seen barring injury.

HotRocks34 wrote:Race looks over unless the season resumes and LeBron makes a large move while Giannis stumbles.

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/257654/Media-Straw-Poll-Has-Giannis-Antetokounmpo-As-Overwhelming-Pick-For-MVP

Giannis Antetokounmpo remains the clear favorite to win MVP in a straw poll of 70 media members conducted by ESPN.

Antetokounmpo earned 60 of the 70 possible first place votes.

Before the NBA season was suspended, ESPN began pushing a narrative that James had closed the gap on the MVP race on Antetokounmpo despite the overwhelming case for the reigning MVP. Several media members on ESPN supported James' case by citing specious factors such as the passing of Kobe Bryant, his response to the China controversy and also his age.

There are 100 voters for MVP, I believe. So if Giannis already has 60 in his pocket, it's over (unless there is more regular season to be played).

just to clarify, it was a panel of random writers, not the actuall voters so:

In a survey of 70 media members who cover the league, Antetokounmpo was the clear leader in MVP balloting, earning 60 of the 70 possible first-place votes to open a commanding lead over James, who had an equally commanding lead over the rest of the field.

To make the balloting process realistic, ESPN sought to mimic the league's official voting process as closely as possible. Our MVP voting panel includes a mixture of local beat writers from across the league, as well as national and international reporters, just as the NBA's does at the conclusion of the regular season. And, to conform to the NBA's voting system, every first-place vote is worth 10 points, followed by seven for second place, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth.

In other news, player who by far and away deserves mvp very likely to win mvp

jigga_man wrote:

alienpick wrote:

Dennis 37 wrote:Consider the MVP award. It is the award for the player if who was taken off their team, the team would suffer greatly.

Was Kawhi Leonard the MVP for the Raptors last year? He probably was, but here we are this year and the Raptors have a better record without Kawhi, than they did with him. He would have challenged Giannis for best player if not for load management, but because his absence does not make the Raptors significantly worse, could he have been the MVP?

So is the MVP award not somewhat relying on a huge drop-off in talent from that player's performance to the rest of the team? Is that a compliment to the rest of the team?



http://woelfelspressbox.com/2020/02/bucks-are-vastly-different-team-without-giannis/

Put Lebron on the Bucks and he would have them in first in the East, put Giannis on the Lakers and they would be no where near where they are now.

Lebron is MVP. He means more, and can do more, than Giannis can for any team.

I'm a Lakers fan but this is beyond ridiculous. If Giannis had AD as his second best player instead of Middleton, there would be no point in having the playoffs at all. That may be the scariest duo the league has ever seen barring injury.

Giannis and AD is not better than LeBron and AD.. Who would shoot? Who would create plays.. They would win a ton of games but no way would they win the championship.. Well not as constructed.. Middleton is having a 90 50 40 year so he ain't chump chain thats for sure.. LeBron is better than Giannis full stop.. Giannis is having another great regular season but last time I saw LBJ in the playoffs 2018 he was having the most 40 point games of all time and hit several closing shots... LBJ is a better passer and shooter than Giannis.. He is also a steady defender as he showed when defending Giannis and then winning when hosting the Bucks.. Should Giannis be MVP of the reg season if it stopped now probably but LBJ was defo closing with back to back wins over the Bucks and the Clippers and Giannis being shut down against the Heat and the Lakers..

Vegeta10176 wrote:

jigga_man wrote:

alienpick wrote:
Put Lebron on the Bucks and he would have them in first in the East, put Giannis on the Lakers and they would be no where near where they are now.

Lebron is MVP. He means more, and can do more, than Giannis can for any team.

I'm a Lakers fan but this is beyond ridiculous. If Giannis had AD as his second best player instead of Middleton, there would be no point in having the playoffs at all. That may be the scariest duo the league has ever seen barring injury.

Giannis and AD is not better than LeBron and AD.. Who would shoot? Who would create plays.. They would win a ton of games but no way would they win the championship.. Well not as constructed.. Middleton is having a 90 50 40 year so he ain't chump chain thats for sure.. LeBron is better than Giannis full stop.. Giannis is having another great regular season but last time I saw LBJ in the playoffs 2018 he was having the most 40 point games of all time and hit several closing shots... LBJ is a better passer and shooter than Giannis.. He is also a steady defender as he showed when defending Giannis and then winning when hosting the Bucks.. Should Giannis be MVP of the reg season if it stopped now probably but LBJ was defo closing with back to back wins over the Bucks and the Clippers and Giannis being shut down against the Heat and the Lakers..

Right now, Giannis is arguably the favorite to win DPOY despite already being the overwhelming favorite to win MVP. He would be the first player since Jordan & Hakeem to win both. He would actually be the closest player to do so since Hakeem:

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/3/25/21193466/giannis-antetokounmpo-anthony-davis-nba-defensive-player-year

It would be almost unfair to have both AD & Giannis on the same team at their age. Two of arguably the best defensive players in the league while being elite scorers (top 3 & top 9 respectively) in their 20s. It would be no contest. Name a duo in history that would fit that criteria?

The rest of your post is just cherry picking specific games this season (even going back as far to 2018) to prove a flawed point while making claims without using any evidence. Seriously, you're questioning if Giannis can make plays when he's 3rd in the league in scoring (almost 30ppg) while still dishing out almost 6 apg?

jigga_man wrote:

Vegeta10176 wrote:

jigga_man wrote:
I'm a Lakers fan but this is beyond ridiculous. If Giannis had AD as his second best player instead of Middleton, there would be no point in having the playoffs at all. That may be the scariest duo the league has ever seen barring injury.

Giannis and AD is not better than LeBron and AD.. Who would shoot? Who would create plays.. They would win a ton of games but no way would they win the championship.. Well not as constructed.. Middleton is having a 90 50 40 year so he ain't chump chain thats for sure.. LeBron is better than Giannis full stop.. Giannis is having another great regular season but last time I saw LBJ in the playoffs 2018 he was having the most 40 point games of all time and hit several closing shots... LBJ is a better passer and shooter than Giannis.. He is also a steady defender as he showed when defending Giannis and then winning when hosting the Bucks.. Should Giannis be MVP of the reg season if it stopped now probably but LBJ was defo closing with back to back wins over the Bucks and the Clippers and Giannis being shut down against the Heat and the Lakers..

Right now, Giannis is arguably the favorite to win DPOY despite already being the overwhelming favorite to win MVP. He would be the first player since Jordan & Hakeem to win both. He would actually be the closest player to do so since Hakeem:

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/3/25/21193466/giannis-antetokounmpo-anthony-davis-nba-defensive-player-year

It would be almost unfair to have both AD & Giannis on the same team at their age. Two of arguably the best defensive players in the league while being elite scorers (top 3 & top 9 respectively) in their 20s. It would be no contest. Name a duo in history that would fit that criteria?

The rest of your post is just cherry picking specific games this season (even going back as far to 2018) to prove a flawed point while making claims without using any evidence. Seriously, you're questioning if Giannis can make plays when he's 3rd in the league in scoring (almost 30ppg) while still dishing out almost 6 apg?

Giannis and AD would fit as bad as Simmons and Embiid positionally. The big difference is Simmons is also a playmaker like Lebron. Take that away and you have a mess.

The problem is you are just looking at stats and not chemistry or team dynamics. You have to think about how the game is played. THAT’s why Lebron is better than Giannis. When you look at how a team works and how the game is played, Lebron can do SO MUCH more. Lebron is MVP

alienpick wrote:

jigga_man wrote:

Vegeta10176 wrote:

Giannis and AD is not better than LeBron and AD.. Who would shoot? Who would create plays.. They would win a ton of games but no way would they win the championship.. Well not as constructed.. Middleton is having a 90 50 40 year so he ain't chump chain thats for sure.. LeBron is better than Giannis full stop.. Giannis is having another great regular season but last time I saw LBJ in the playoffs 2018 he was having the most 40 point games of all time and hit several closing shots... LBJ is a better passer and shooter than Giannis.. He is also a steady defender as he showed when defending Giannis and then winning when hosting the Bucks.. Should Giannis be MVP of the reg season if it stopped now probably but LBJ was defo closing with back to back wins over the Bucks and the Clippers and Giannis being shut down against the Heat and the Lakers..

Right now, Giannis is arguably the favorite to win DPOY despite already being the overwhelming favorite to win MVP. He would be the first player since Jordan & Hakeem to win both. He would actually be the closest player to do so since Hakeem:

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/3/25/21193466/giannis-antetokounmpo-anthony-davis-nba-defensive-player-year

It would be almost unfair to have both AD & Giannis on the same team at their age. Two of arguably the best defensive players in the league while being elite scorers (top 3 & top 9 respectively) in their 20s. It would be no contest. Name a duo in history that would fit that criteria?

The rest of your post is just cherry picking specific games this season (even going back as far to 2018) to prove a flawed point while making claims without using any evidence. Seriously, you're questioning if Giannis can make plays when he's 3rd in the league in scoring (almost 30ppg) while still dishing out almost 6 apg?

Giannis and AD would fit as bad as Simmons and Embiid positionally. The big difference is Simmons is also a playmaker like Lebron. Take that away and you have a mess.

The problem is you are just looking at stats and not chemistry or team dynamics. You have to think about how the game is played. THAT’s why Lebron is better than Giannis. When you look at how a team works and how the game is played, Lebron can do SO MUCH more. Lebron is MVP

Positionally? What are you talking about? Embiid is a center & Simmons is a point guard. They don't work because Simmons doesn't shoot. Not that he can't, he practically doesn't.

You're the one that doesn't look at how the game is played. News flash, defense is 50% of the game and the Bucks a month ago were arguably the best defensive team in history. Which player do you think is largely responsible for that (hint the player who is a DPOY candidate):

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/2/24/21150060/milwaukee-bucks-best-defense-in-history

Yes, if you ignore half the game (defense), then I guess GIannis is not MVP. If you also ignore his 6apg while being an elite scorer, then yes, he's not a playmaker. If you ignore Duncan & Robinson, then yes, you can make a flawed analogy about "stats and not chemistry or team dynamics" and not realize elite big men can easily play together despite their redundant skills.

You can ignore a lot of things willfully to avoid the reality that Giannis will win or was going to win the MVP by a substantial margin.