Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press
LeBron James may have built some momentum before the NBA suspended its season because of the coronavirus pandemic, but Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is still the clear-cut MVP at this point.
Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com conducted a survey of 70 media members and mirrored the actual MVP voting process as closely as possible.
Antetokounmpo was in first place in 60 of the 70 ballots and second place behind James in the other 10. James finished in second place in all but two of the other ballots with a third- and fourth-place finish on those.
James Harden, Luka Doncic and Kawhi Leonard rounded out the top five.
Antetokounmpo’s Bucks have the best record in the league at 53-12, and he leads James in points (29.6 to 25.7), rebounds (13.7 to 7.9), blocks (1.0 to 0.5) and free-throw attempts (10.0 to 5.7) per game while shooting 54.7 percent from the field to the King’s 49.8 percent mark.
However, James—who leads the league with 10.6 assists per game—did have some momentum after guiding his Los Angeles Lakers to a head-to-head win over Giannis’ Bucks and another over Leonard’s LA Clippers right before the league went on hiatus.
What’s more, Antetokounmpo was sidelined by an injury.
Alas, it is clear the Milwaukee star will be in pole position if and when play resumes as he chases a second consecutive MVP. Still, both would surely rather have the NBA title, which could come down to a head-to-head showdown.
