Giannis Antetokounmpo Wins Second NBA MVP Award: Report

MILWAUKEE, WI — Milwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis Antetkounmpo has won his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player award, sources say.

According to an ESPN report from early Friday, NBA beat writer Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted the news. The announcement has yet to be formally made by the NBA. Antetokounmpo won the award following the 2018-19 season after leading the Bucks to within two games of the NBA finals, losing to the Toronto Raptors.

Now that the Milwaukee Bucks have been eliminated from 2019-20 NBA playoff contention, speculation abounds on whether the team's best player Antetokounmpo will leave Milwaukee to play for another team.

After the Miami Heat defeated the Bucks in five games in the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals, Antetokounmpo addressed the question: whether he wants out of Milwaukee.

"It's not happening. That's not happening," Antetokounmpo told Yahoo Sports. "Some see a wall and go in [another direction]. I plow through it. We just have to get better as a team, individually and get right back at it next season."

Antetokounmpo, 25, just completed his seventh season with the Bucks, who drafted him prior to the 2013-14 season as a little-known 19-year-old out of Greece. If he does not sign a new contract this offseason, he will enter free agency. Where Antetokounmpo goes from there will shape the power dynamic in the NBA for years to come.

He's a four-time NBA All-Star, an NBA Most Valuable Player, and also has NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors to his credit.

He signed a 4-year, $100 million contract extension in Sep. 2016, and is signed through the 2020-21 season for $27.5 million. He's eligible to sign a 5-year super-max contract extension during the offseason that could be worth nearly $250 million.

Whether he signs that contract with the Bucks is anybody's guess.

Antetokounmpo has been the Bucks focal point for the last several years, scoring 29.5 points per game this season, and averaging more than 20 points per game in each of the last four seasons. He's garnered an average of 13.6 rebounds per game this season and has averaged more than 10 rebounds in each of the last three seasons. He's also dishing out more than five assists per game over the last two years.

According to Basketball Reference.com, Antetokounmpo's career arc through seven seasons matches up with Grant Hill, Adrian Dantley, Cliff Hagan, Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale, Jimmy Butler and Elgin Baylor in descending order.