Giannis Antetokounmpo has won his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player award, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday morning.
The Milwaukee Bucks forward officially is vying with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Houston Rockets guard James Harden for the honor. The official announcement is expected on NBA TV at 2 p.m. ET.
Antetokounmpo, 25, averaged 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 63 regular-season games in 2019-20. His numbers in nine playoff games were remarkably similar: 26.7 points, 13.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists.
Antetokounmpo also was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season.
James, a four-time MVP, averaging 25.3 points, 10.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds for the Lakers. The only players with more MVP awards are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with six and Bill Russell and Michael Jordan with five each.
Harden, the 2017-18 MVP, won his third consecutive NBA scoring title by averaging 34.3 points per game. He also had 7.5 assists and 6.6 rebounds in 2019-20.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo has won his second consecutive MVP award, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 18, 2020
–Field Level Media ()