Giannis finishes behind Shai and Jokic for MVP
Although Milwaukee Bucks fans were hoping that superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo would somehow beat the odds and win his third MVP award, it was not to be, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his first MVP, according to Shams Charania of ESPN:
FROM SHAMS:
Breaking: Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won the NBA MVP award, sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania Tweets (& Other NBA News) (@shamsbot.bsky.social) 2025-05-21T19:51:23.203Z
Giannis received 88 of the third-place votes, with Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics receiving 11 and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell getting the last one. Here is how the voting shook out with all 100 votes tallied:
This is Giannis’ seventh year in a row finishing in the top four of the MVP voting since he won the award back in the 2018-19 season. This is a one-spot improvement for Giannis from last season, when he finished behind Luka Dončić, SGA, and the winner in Nikola Jokić.
The Greek Freak had another historic season, putting up over 30 points per game on over 60% shooting from the field for the second season in a row (30.4 PPG and 60.1% shooting from the field). Despite his herculean efforts, the Bucks finished just fifth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 48-34 and lost in the first round for the third straight season. Giannis reacted to the news in his typical fun and sarcastic way on X:
Although he didn’t capture the regular season MVP, he did at least win NBA Cup MVP back in December. We’ll have to wait until next season to see if Giannis can capture his third MVP and become the tenth player in NBA history to win three or more.