Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has put up otherworldly numbers this season, yet former NBA player-turned-hot-take-puff Ryan Hollins argued The Greek Freak wasn't worthy of his MVP consideration.
Hollins was a guest on ESPN's morning show Get Up! and said that he couldn't consider Antetokoumpo as a candidate, since he rarely closes games.
“He is not the MVP,” said Hollins. “When you talk MVP, that means you're the most valuable player on the team — your impact is the largest. When I watch Giannis — yes he rebounds, he blocks shots, he does all those little things. I love what he does, I love him! But he's not gonna close out a game for you, he's not gonna go out and win that big game. In fact, in the fourth quarters, he turns into more of a center and morphs into a roller to the rim, rather than the guys with the ball in his hands creating opportunities.
“When you watch the Bucks play, it's [Eric] Bledsoe, it's [Khris] Middleton, those guys are closing the game out, those guys are hitting big shots, those guys are playmaking. So for me, I can't put you into that MVP candidacy until you're closing games out. I just can't give you that type of credit.”
Not so fast on Giannis for MVP, says @TheRyanHollins. pic.twitter.com/v26IknxQSC
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 26, 2018
Antetokounmpo boasts a ridiculous line of 26.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.4 blocks this season and leads his team in every category but blocks, second only to seven-footer Brook Lopez.
These “little things” that The Greek Freak is doing throughout the game is what puts the Bucks in position to have guys like Bledsoe and Middleton close games out.
What Hollins says is only partly true. Antetokounmpo is vastly limited in his ability to be the closer with the ball in his hands because of his lack of a reliable jumper, two things Bledsoe and Middleton possess, yet it is his gravity as a guaranteed bucket in the paint that creates those opportunities for the Bucks' back-court to find the openings and make shots down the stretch.
Drawing out a double-team in the dying seconds of a game is just as valuable as being the guy to knock down the open shot, dishing out the game-winning assist, or denying a shot at the rim to keep a lead safe.
Antetokounmpo is, however, getting the LeBron James treatment, as this was a stiff part of his criticism before he earned his first MVP, as many argued he was too passive at the end of games.
Like James, Antetokounmpo will eventually develop a steady jumper to give him the right set of tools to dominate in all areas of the floor, effectively making him more of a terror.
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