Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo wins 2019-20 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award

23rd Sep 2020 | Source: APO

Antetokounmpo is Third Player to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in Same Season

This is the second straight Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award for Antetokounmpo, who becomes the 12th player to earn the honor in consecutive seasons

NEW YORK, United States of America, September 18, 2020/APO Group/ --

Greek Forward Becomes Third Player to Win Multiple MVP Awards by Age 25; Antetokounmpo is Third Player to Win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in Same Season

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been named the 2019-20 Kia NBA (www.NBA.com) Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today.

This is the second straight Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award for Antetokounmpo, who becomes the 12th player to earn the honor in consecutive seasons. A native of Greece, Antetokounmpo is the first player from Europe to be selected as the NBA MVP more than once. Antetokounmpo, 25, also joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James as the only players to win multiple NBA MVP awards by the age of 25.

Antetokounmpo was previously named the 2019-20 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He joins Michael Jordan (1987-88) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94) as the only players to be selected as the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player and the Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. (The NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award was first presented in the 1982-83 season.)

Antetokounmpo received 85 of 101 first-place votes and earned 962 total points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters as well as the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award fan vote. Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James received the other 16 first-place votes and finished in second place with 753 points. Houston Rockets guard James Harden (367 points) finished in third place, followed by Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Don?i? (200 points) in fourth place and LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (168 points) in fifth place.

Players received 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five points for each third-place vote, three points for each fourth-place vote and one point for each fifth-place vote. The voting was conducted based on regular-season games played through March 11. The seeding games, which were played July 30 – Aug. 14 as part of the season restart, did not count toward voting for the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award or the league’s other traditional end-of-season awards.

In games played through March 11, Antetokounmpo averaged 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.04 steals and 1.02 blocks in 30.9 minutes in 57 games. During that time, he ranked third in the NBA in both scoring average and rebounding average. Antetokounmpo also shot 54.7 percent from the field and sank 83 three-pointers, which is 31 more threes than he made in any of his previous six seasons.

Behind Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee posted an NBA-leading 53-12 record in games played through March 11, a mark that included an 18-game winning streak Nov. 10 – Dec. 14. The four-time NBA All-Star selection helped the Bucks excel on both ends of the court as they led the league in net rating (outscoring opponents by 10.7 points per 100 possessions), scoring offense (118.6 ppg) and defensive rating (101.6 points allowed per 100 possessions) in their first 65 games of the season.

Antetokounmpo was honored as the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for October/November, December and January, in addition to being named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week four times. He was also voted as a starter to the NBA All-Star Game for the fourth consecutive season, serving as a team captain for the second year in a row.

Among Antetokounmpo’s other accomplishments in games played through March 11:

Led the NBA in double-doubles with 52.

Recorded four triple-doubles.

Posted 17 games with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds – 14 more than any other player.

Grabbed 20 rebounds in a game twice.

Scored 50 points against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 25.

Antetokounmpo receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the winner of the 2019-20 Kia NBA MVP Award. Podoloff served as the NBA’s first commissioner from 1946 until his retirement in 1963.

For the 11th consecutive season, the NBA and Kia Motors America (KMA) gave fans the opportunity to vote for the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award by voting online or by Twitter. The fan vote counted as one vote toward determining the winner.

The voting results for the 2019-20 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award are below. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP. Complete ballots for each voter will be posted at pr.nba.com on Saturday, Sept. 19

VOTING RESULTS: 2019-20 KIA NBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD

Player (Team)

1st Place Votes

2nd Place Votes

3rd Place Votes

4th Place Votes

5th Place Votes

Total

(10 Points)

(7 Points)

(5 Points)

(3 Points)

(1 Point)

Points

Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee)

962

LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)

753

James Harden (Houston)

367

Luka Don?i? (Dallas)

200

Kawhi Leonard (LA Clippers)

168

Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)

Chris Paul (Oklahoma City)

Damian Lillard (Portland)

Nikola Joki? (Denver)

Pascal Siakam (Toronto)

Jimmy Butler (Miami)

Jayson Tatum (Boston)

Below is the all-time list of recipients of the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award.

KIA NBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER WINNERS

1955-56 – Bob Pettit, St. Louis

1977-78 – Bill Walton, Portland

1999-00 – Shaquille O’Neal, L.A. Lakers

1956-57 – Bob Cousy, Boston

1978-79 – Moses Malone, Houston

2000-01 – Allen Iverson, Philadelphia

1957-58 – Bill Russell, Boston

1979-80 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers

2001-02 – Tim Duncan, San Antonio

1958-59 – Bob Pettit, St. Louis

1980-81 – Julius Erving, Philadelphia

2002-03 – Tim Duncan, San Antonio

1959-60 – Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia

1981-82 – Moses Malone, Houston

2003-04 – Kevin Garnett, Minnesota

1960-61 – Bill Russell, Boston

1982-83 – Moses Malone, Philadelphia

2004-05 – Steve Nash, Phoenix

1961-62 – Bill Russell, Boston

1983-84 – Larry Bird, Boston

2005-06 – Steve Nash, Phoenix

1962-63 – Bill Russell, Boston

1984-85 – Larry Bird, Boston

2006-07 – Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas

1963-64 – Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati

1985-86 – Larry Bird, Boston

2007-08 – Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers

1964-65 – Bill Russell, Boston

1986-87 – Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers

2008-09 – LeBron James, Cleveland

1965-66 – Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia

1987-88 – Michael Jordan, Chicago

2009-10 – LeBron James, Cleveland

1966-67 – Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia

1988-89 – Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers

2010-11 – Derrick Rose, Chicago

1967-68 – Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia

1989-90 – Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers

2011-12 – LeBron James, Miami

1968-69 – Wes Unseld, Baltimore

1990-91 – Michael Jordan, Chicago

2012-13 – LeBron James, Miami

1969-70 – Willis Reed, New York

1991-92 – Michael Jordan, Chicago

2013-14 – Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City

1970-71 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee

1992-93 – Charles Barkley, Phoenix

2014-15 – Stephen Curry, Golden State

1971-72 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee

1993-94 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston

2015-16 – Stephen Curry, Golden State

1972-73 – Dave Cowens, Boston

1994-95 – David Robinson, San Antonio

2016-17 – Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City

1973-74 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee

1995-96 – Michael Jordan, Chicago

2017-18 – James Harden, Houston

1974-75 – Bob McAdoo, Buffalo

1996-97 – Karl Malone, Utah

2018-19 – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee

1975-76 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers

1997-98 – Michael Jordan, Chicago

2019-20 – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee

1976-77 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers

1998-99 – Karl Malone, Utah

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Basketball Association (NBA).

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