Every year, the NBA has awards for the players and the most prestigious award is reserved for the most valuable player. The 2019-2020 has been nothing short of crazy with the season being suspended due to the coronavirus.  Players such as TJ Warren have been balling out, and the Phoenix Suns went undefeated in the resumed play. However, one question that sparks the most controversy is who should be the MVP this year. The two front runners in this year’s MVP race were Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lebron James.

On Sept. 18, the NBA announced that Milwaukee Buck Giannis Antetokounmpo as the league MVP.  This ignited a great deal of controversy due to the fact that everyone thought Lebron James should have won. The question that people are still left with is, who is the real MVP…Lebron or Giannis?

This season Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. His offensive game this year was an improvement from last year, and not to mention Antetokounmpo also dominated on the defensive side of the ball this year. He earned defensive player of the year and led his team to the No. 1 seed along with a record of 53-12. Despite being a second-round exit in the playoffs, the Bucks and Giannis had a more dominant regular season than James and the Lakers, as the numbers show.

James averaged 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.4 rebounds.  Based on regular-season stats, Antetokounmpo dominated James in everything except assists. Essentially, Antetokounmpo shot the ball better than James as he shot 54.7 percent from the field, while James shot 49.8 percent from the field. While the numbers from James are good, especially for a 35-year-old, Antetokounmpo has shown better regular season stats and dominance. 

While others may disagree and think James should be the MVP, they need to realize the MVP award is rewarded based on regular-season play, and numbers do not lie.  This season, the numbers show how Antetokounmpo had a better regular season. In summary, if the MVP award was based on regular season and playoffs, without a doubt it would be James. Since the award is for performance in the regular season only, Antetokounmpo clearly had the better and more dominant regular season than James.  Therefore, Antetokounmpo is the true MVP.