Giannis Antetokounmpo: I'm Still the NBA's MVP Favorite

Everything was in place. It was going to be the year of Giannis.

Through his first 10 games, Giannis Antetokounmpo was on a tear and the prohibitive favorite to win MVP. Averaging roughly 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while shooting 60 percent from the field, the Greek Freak was stuffing the stat sheet and one-upping himself with highlight after never-before-seen highlight on a nightly basis.

After a 32-point effort on 14-of-18 shooting in the Milwaukee Bucks' 116-107 win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, there's no doubt that Antetokounmpo remains one of the league's most dominant and valuable players. James Harden and LeBron James may have overtaken him in the public narrative, but he certainly doesn't think things have changed.

"I still am," Antetokounmpo told Bleacher Report when asked if he is still the MVP favorite. To be sure, that's his opinion, yet he acknowledges the public narrative. "I'm one of the best players in the league. We're going to the playoffs. I'm still in the discussion. I might not be the favorite anymore, but I'm still in the discussion. That's how I feel."

Bucks forward Jabari Parker added: "He's the MVP in all our books. He's a great teammate, and we love what he does for us."

Things have leveled out a little bit. His season numbers normalized to a cool 27-10-5, and his field-goal percentage dipped to 53. He was bearing a Westbrookian load at 34.7 percent usage through his first 10 games, and it might have been difficult to keep up, but that's hardly reason enough to kill off his MVP case.

"I thought he was too, s--t," Warriors forward Jordan Bell said when asked if he thought Antetokounmpo would be the MVP. "I don't think the hype died down. I guess it did, but he's still killing it. His numbers are the exact same."

Antetokounmpo's on/off net rating is 14.2, ranking in the 97th percentile of the league. There's no doubt he's a star, and few teams suffer more without their star player on the floor. Most MVPs come from one of the league's top teams (though exclusions apply: Russell Westbrook, 2016-17). The Bucks, despite winning their 40th game, are fighting their way up from the eighth seed.

Khris Middleton acknowledged the Bucks' 40-35 record has had an effect on how Antetokounmpo is perceived but isn't too concerned about what it means for him.

"Just cause of where we are standing-wise," Middleton said. "He's having a hell of a year, but sometimes you have to have a better record; you gotta win in this league to have the MVP. He's having a hell of a year. There's nothing wrong with him not winning it this year; he's got many more years in this league to be dominant."

All the change hasn't helped their record. They made a big trade, acquiring Eric Bledsoe midseason. Jason Kidd was fired as head coach after 45 games. Injuries play a role too, hampering the Bucks' synergy and limiting their ability to stack wins.

After a second ACL recovery, the Bucks defense is 3.8 points per 100 possessions better with Parker off the floor, and the clunky fit is obvious. Their point guard carousel is among the league's elite. They've tried Matthew Dellavedova, but injury has held him to 37 games. Malcolm Brogdon, one of the few players closely resembling a two-way point guard, has been out since February 2. Brandon Jennings is getting play after a comeback. Bledsoe's defense is nice but not as fruitful in the Bucks' hyperaggressive system. Besides, he's shooting 33.1 percent on three-pointers since coming over from a Phoenix-area salon, and he may as well still be there the way teams sag off of him.

The injuries and constant roster change have made this an unstable year, but Antetokounmpo took the contrarian view.

"I think it's made our atmosphere and chemistry better," he said. "We had that trade, but the guys that came into our team are really good team players. They went along with what our team is all about, so it was easy for everyone on our team."

It's not like Antetokounmpo doesn't have help. Middleton is a true co-star, but at 36.7 percent, he is having his worst three-point shooting season since joining the Bucks. The team gets to the rim fourth-most in the league but is bottom-five in three-point shooting frequency. With all those bodies clogging the paint, it limits the pressure the team can put on opponents and hurts Antetokounmpo's interior scoring presence, perhaps driving down the field-goal percentage.

Trades happen, and coaches lose their jobs. But these changes are made to help improve the defense and space the floor. Not the case for the Bucks, who are virtually the same since the shakeup.

The Bucks went 23-22 with Kidd at the helm with a 107.2 offensive rating, 107.5 defensive rating and -0.3 net rating. Meanwhile, things have hardly changed with Joe Prunty leading the charge, going 17-13 with a 108.9 offensive rating, 106.1 defensive rating and 2.8 net rating. Not exactly conducive to building up an MVP resume.

If Antetokounmpo's MVP case has taken a hit, it's because this team hasn't yet become the legit Eastern Conference threat it should be.

Of course, it could just be the scenery, even if that's extremely unfair.

"One, they're in the East," Bell said, "so people probably aren't looking at them as much as people on the West. Two, being with the Bucks, it's not the Rockets or the Warriors or the Lakers. Milwaukee, no offense, it's Milwaukee. People want to hear about L.A. Even though they might have a better record than L.A., you're still going to hear about Lonzo [Ball], [Kyle] Kuzma, Brandon Ingram before you're going to hear about anybody over there, even though he's an All-Star."

Candid, but maybe there's truth to it.

He may not win it, but Antetokounmpo is having an MVP-worthy season. His stock is falling out of the public's favor, but the season he's put together should not be taken for granted.