Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic are on a tight MVP race, but whoever wins between the three, Giannis feels it is already a huge victory for the NBA and their global fan base.

Antetokounmpo admitted as much ahead of the Bucks' showdown with the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. The Bucks star noted that fans seeing the likes of him, Embiid and Jokic succeed in the NBA is certainly a huge inspiration to many outside America who are dreaming to make it to the top basketball league in the world.

“Kids from Africa, kids from Europe are coming to the league and they see us, like: ‘Okay, I can be the guy. I can be the franchise player,” Antetokounmpo shared, per Michael Lee of Washington Post.

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With Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic contending for the MVP award with just a couple of games left in the season, it is all but assured that a non-American will win the highest individual honor in the league for the fifth straight year. Giannis and Nikola have split the last four with two each, while Embiid is now favored to win it after a dominant year of two-way play.

It remains to be seen who will actually take home the award, but regardless of the results, it's definitely something to celebrate as early as now for foreign fans. The game has really become global, and basketball domination is definitely no longer exclusive for the US.