Understandably, Adidas thinks that Houston Rockets guard James Harden should be the 2018-19 MVP. The company does sponsor the All-Star, after all, so there are undoubtedly marketing opportunities abound for representing the league's back-to-back MVP, should that become the case. So when an ad was taken out in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel prior to Tuesday's contest against the Milwaukee Bucks — who boast their own MVP candidate in Giannis Antetokounmpo — it seemed like Adidas and Harden were pushing the envelope.
But Bucks center Brook Lopez didn't see it that way. Checking out the ad for himself prior to tip-off, Lopez laughed off any bad blood that third parties may be attempting to stir up, noting that he too is a Harden fan. Clearly, Lopez can root for Harden and still support his teammate for the league's top honor:
So @adidas placed a full page ad in my paper today. On James Harden. And here’s Brook Lopez reading it at my request #bucks pic.twitter.com/CKC7tHhIke
— Lori Nickel (@LoriNickel) March 26, 2019
The James Harden vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo MVP debate is likely to go right down to the wire. Houston's guard is averaging 36.4 points per game entering play Tuesday, which would rank eighth all-time in league history for single-season scoring average.
On the other hand, Antetokounmpo has piled up 27.4 points, 12.6 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game, all while shooting 58.2 percent overall. There's the scorer rewriting the Rockets' record books, and then there's the Bucks phenom leading his team to the league's best record.
There are other names that have popped up in the conversation throughout the year, but with just weeks remaining, it appears to be a two-horse race. Lopez wasn't taking the bait, but come the summer, we'll finally know who has earned the MVP crown.
Follow Us
Subscribe