Giannis Antetokounmpo has made quite the first impression for Miami Heat fans everywhere.
The Miami Heat have wrapped up four of their five preseason games, with the finale coming Friday against the Orlando Magic. And if there’s any one single takeaway to ride home with, it’s that Antetokounmpo has a chip on his shoulder and is hoping to make a run at his third career MVP.
However, in the NBA’s annual GM survey, executives didn’t get him the benefit of the doubt — despite the fact that he’s the focal point for one of the best teams in a deep Eastern Conference. Of the 30 anonymous GM’s, Antetokounmpo didn’t receive a single first-place vote for who would win MVP this upcoming season — with those votes delegated to Victor Wembanyama, who commanded 23 votes, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Edwards, back-to-back MVP winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum.
Why Giannis Antetokounmpo could win MVP in 2026-27:
Antetokounmpo, who turns 32-years-old in December, isn’t stranger to the MVP.
The near 7-footer won the MVP in back-to-back years in 2018-19 and 2019-20. In that span, he averaged a combined 28.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.3 blocks. He shot 56.6 percent shooting with a 62.9 true shooting percentage. He and Khris Middleton formed one of the league’s top 1-2 punches offensively over that span. And, one year later in 2021, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to their first title in a half-century.
Since then, he’s finished top-4 in the MVP voting five times, including in the top-3 on three occassions. Antetokounmpo’s still at the back-end of his prime, too, having averaging 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.2 blocks in his last fully healthy season in 2024-25.
Preseason is preseason, but Antetokounmpo hasn’t appeared to lose a step. In fact, the Greek Freak looks better than ever, having posted a 20-point, 16-rebound, nine-assist, one-steal, three-block stat line on 8-of-10 shooting in just 24 minutes.
You want to know who’s accomplished that line in a regular season game in under 25 minutes in league history? Nobody. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Zap.
On a per-36-minute basis, Antetokounmpo’s posting averages of 30.4 points, 14.9 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.9 blocks on 69.3 percent true shooting. It will be very difficult to maintain those numbers over the course of an 82-game season. We’re working with a microscopic three-game sample size.
That being said, Antetokounmpo’s in a perfect ecosystem to thrive. He will need to clear the 65-game threshold, which he’s done three times over the last five years. But he will be operating in a fast-paced environment with just enough shooting to besiege any open spaces on the floor. He’s playing under one of the best coaches this generation who will scheme up every advantage possible.
And, if he’s healthy, Miami will be in the thick for a top-4 seed in the East — and perhaps the No. 1 seed if the cards break right.
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Thread up
pelle hasnt played alot
banchero looks much different
davs gotta be one ogf the quickest guys in nba looks quicker this year
everybody looking good except klay
Hello staff, game thread please?
Haha!
Staff: hey who’s in charge this day?
just make it here rc
No
Game thread?
The greek freak already in mid-season form .
The season hasn’t even freaking started yet
Giannis will let his game do the talking. He is very high on Heat culture and the work ethic of his teammates. He is also impressed by the fact everyone on the roster is prepared to step in and play, when needed. The more this group plays together, the better it will get.
It will be interesting to see if he can keep up with the team’s fast pace over a full season. Who knows, it may unlock a whole new untapped level of performance in him. He has the potential to be an even better playmaker.
The NBA’s GMs are going to realize they grossly underestimated Giannis about the time the playoffs roll around.
I’m calling it now… he will average a near triple double.
Mabe they’re just basing the performance from last season. But who knows what goes on in their gm minds lol
A lot of assumptions, projections…mostly guess work for all the teams and again I’ll go with the 20 game eval to get a better ‘guess work’ of this new look Miami Heat. Which we all can agree here is very promising.
Just what the league should do – piss him off. As if he needs any more incentive to win.