Giannis Antetokounmpo won the NBA Most Valuable Player award last season, yet he’s found a way to be better this year than last. He has increased his numbers in every category, and is sporting the best player efficiency rating of all time. He will undoubtedly, without any injury, repeat as MVP, and has a chance to win the award unanimously. Yet some people don’t believe Giannis is the world’s best player. They point to LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard before Giannis. It’s time to settle the debate, and show the basketball world that Giannis has taken the crown as the league’s best player.

Team success is always very important when comparing best players. Giannis’ Bucks are on track to win 70 games this year after winning a league leading 60 games last season. The Bucks squad is built around Giannis’ strengths, and helps him be the MVP that he is. Giannis has turned himself from a scrawny kid to a hulking beast who can not be stopped. Giannis roles into the paint and scores easily or passes out to an open shooter. No team has found a solution to the bucks fast paced high volume shooting attack, and it makes the Bucks title contenders. They are the best team in the NBA, and it all runs through the Greek Freak. Giannis gets different defensive alignments every game and yet continues to dominate every game. Giannis is not injury prone, many stars have lost the ability to become the league’s best player due to injury, Derrick Rose is a prime example. Giannis has played at least 72 games every year of his career. He has never had a major injury and he rarely takes bad falls or unnecessary contact. 

Individual success is just as important when judging how good players are. Giannis has an MVP award and several all-defensive teams as well. Giannis is a top five defender in the game, maybe even top three. He can defend the perimeter and can guard the rim with ease. He can block shots, get steals, and be a defensive anchor for his team. Offensively, Giannis is unrivalled. He is averaging 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists in only 30 minutes per game. Giannis doesn’t need load management because of how little he plays. His team wins by twenty and he gets to sit for the end of the game. Giannis has the highest PER of all time which would make this regular season one of the greatest of all time. Giannis is putting up prime Shaq numbers on the best team in the NBA without a second superstar, and some people still don’t think he is the league’s best player. Unlike most superstars, Giannis’ potential is still unknown. He has increased his scoring average every year of his career, and only recently has he added a jumpshot to his game. Once Giannis has a reliable three point jumper his ability to dominate a game will only improve. In three or four years, Giannis may be even better than he is now and that is after he already won the MVP. It’s time for the NBA to wake up to Giannis’ greatness and accept him as the league’s top player.