The Greek and Milwaukee Bucks basketball star of Nigerian descent, Giannis Antetokounmpo, has been crowned with the most valuable player award for a second consecutive year.
The 25-year-old basketball player is the 12th player in history to win the award twice in a row.
The Bucks forward, nicknamed “The Greek Freak” also won the Defensive Player of the Year title in the same season.
This great accomplishment has been achieved by two legends before him; Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994 and Michael Jordan, in 1988.
He’s also ahead in rankings of current titans Lebron James and James Harden.
The award softens the blow since the Bucks were eliminated in the semi-finals against Miami Heat.
But he will have to wait a little longer to rise to the ranks of his Bucks predecessor Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who won MVPs 2 years in a row and led his team to its first NBA championship in 1971.
Antetokounmpo averaged 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 63 regular-season games in 2019-20. He averaged 26.7 points, 13.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists in nine play-off games.
Among other Antetokounmpo’s  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.
