NBA Cup Proves Why Giannis Antetokounmpo Should be MVP Favorite

The Milwaukee Bucks won the second annual Emirates NBA Cup in Las Vegas after dominating the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 on Tuesday night.

Former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to prove why he's one of the best players in the league, finishing Tuesday's contest with a triple-double, notching 26 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists. The forward also had two steals and three blocks.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Named NBA Cup MVP

Antetokounmpo was named NBA Cup's Most Valuable Player after his performance, joining last year's MVP LeBron James as the only two NBA players to earn a regular season, All-Star Game, and Finals MVP along with this new NBA Cup MVP. The 30-year-old talked about his mindset going into this game, and how he didn't focus on obtaining an MVP title, he focused on winning the game with his team.

"At the end of the day, when you approach a game like this, you're not thinking about the MVPs," Antetokounmpo said per Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "You're thinking about trying to win the game, and sometimes when you try to win the game and try to do whatever it takes to put yourself in position to be successful and you're able to get a trophy like that."

Antetokounmpo also talked about how the mindset going into important games like this truly matters; You don't want to think about just yourself and how you're going to succeed, but rather how the team can be successful.

"When you approach the game that way, things like being in the Finals of the NBA Cup, winning the championship, things like that just fall in place," he said. "I think any player that approaches the game, approach any big game thinking any -- oh, all season, I want to win the MVP, I want to do that, I want to do this, and that is the main goal, it won't happen. It won't happen. You know, because you approach the game the wrong way, and you're thinking about yourself."

Teammates of the Bucks' superstar gave him his well-deserved flowers, saying things like he is the best player in the world.

"I'll just keep it simple: He's the best player in the world," Bucks center Brook Lopez said of Antetokounmpo. "He just keeps finding ways to get better in the offseason, in-season, every day, every game, it's just so impressive."

"I don't think the tournament or the Cup was something that Giannis was just determined to win," Damian Lillard said. "I think that's just who he is. He's a determined person and player. Just the background that he comes from. His journey to becoming the superstar that he is is a tough one."

But Giannis doesn't take all of the credit for the dominating game the Milwaukee Bucks had against the Thunder, he commends his team for the way they played, and how they're going to leave Vegas a stronger team.

"No matter win or lose, we know we were going to leave Vegas a better team. I'm so proud of this group," Antetokounmpo said. "We came out in the third quarter. We set the tone. We played great basketball. We were moving the ball. Guys were making shots, but most importantly, we were competing defensively."

Antetokounmpo's newest piece of hardware joins his already filled resume full of many accolades: Eight-time all-star, five-time All-Defensive team, Most Improved Player in 2017, Defensive Player of the Year in 2020, All-Star Game MVP in 2021 and Finals MVP in that same year, and consecutive KIA NBA MVP awards in 2019 and 2020. He also was named to the NBA Top 75 anniversary team in 2022.

As it stands, Antetokounmpo has the third-best odds to win NBA MVP (+500) at DraftKings Sportsbook, trailing only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+260) and Nikola Jokic (+115). Based on how the NBA Cup went though, Antetokounmpo should be the favorite.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.