In receiving his NBA MVP Award on Monday night, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks delivered an emotional speech.
Via NBA TV, look at Antetokounmpo's speech below. He recalled his late father Charles, who died in 2017, as his main inspiration for becoming an NBA professional and giving his best. For Giannis Antetokounmpo, just thinking about his father pushes him to play harder every night. He also thanked his brothers, as well as his mother, whom he called a ātrue hero.ā
Giannis gets emotional as he thanks his family after winning the #KiaMVP trophy. š#NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/c2WrHZMB0k
ā NBA TV (@NBATV) June 25, 2019
Giannis Antetokounmpo, 24, became the third-youngest player to win the NBA MVP Award over the past 40 seasons, behind Derrick Rose (the youngest at 22) and LeBron James (24).
In the 2018-2019 season, Antetokounmpo quickly became the favorite to snag the award when he put up a dominant performance night after night in the first months of the campaign. Games featured Antetokounmpo utilizing his length and newfound colossal strength on offense and defense. He became the kind of player opponents had very few answers for. He wasn't a fully unsolvable puzzle ā his underdeveloped long-range jump shot is one of his very few noticeable weaknesses ā but his influence at both ends of the floor was still unmatched in the NBA. His presence on the floor rippled through the other nine players on the court and made his four Milwaukee teammates exponentially better.
Analysts tagged him as the most dominant basketball player today. Along the way, he guided the Bucks to a league-leading 60-win season.
In his sixth year in the league, Antetokounmpo averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. In the All-Star break, he was named team captain alongside James.
In terms of voting, Antetokounmpo got 78 of the possible 100 first-place votes. James Harden of the Houston Rockets ā last year's MVP ā came in second place with 22 first-place votes.
Follow Us
Subscribe