Crown him (for now): Giannis pulled ahead of LeBron in the NBA MVP race

The Freak > LeBron in the MVP race.

It’s the statement NBA fans have been making for years: “The Greek Freak is otherworldly, but once he gets an outside shot … oh man, it’s going to be crazy.”

Well, here we are. Giannis Antetokounmpo has developed a three-point shot, and when it’s on as it was in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 111-104 win over the Los Angeles Lakers (he went 5-of-8 from beyond the arc), it makes him downright unstoppable.

And that’s why, when he mimed crowning himself during that game, it was absolutely not a trolling move. As of right now, after taking down LeBron James’ squad, he deserves to lead the MVP race:

Even King James had to mime right back with respect — he gave a “tip of the cap” to Antetokounmpo for hitting from deep like that:

Despite the numbers Luka Doncic is putting up — and he’s on the shelf with an ankle sprain — the MVP race is a two-man marathon with James averaging 10.6 assists per game, and let’s point out that he’s hitting a career-high from deep with 2.2 threes per contest.

The Freak, meanwhile, is second in the NBA in scoring, sixth in rebounding, leads the league in double-doubles … and now the Bucks have the NBA’s best record and the reigning MVP has taken his game to an entirely new level.

Plus, you can make the case that James has a teammate in Anthony Davis having himself a MVP-caliber season (another player who has honed his deep shot to average a career-high with 1.1 treys per contest), which is an argument against voting for James.

So could we have the league’s first back-to-back MVP since Steph Curry in 2015-16? If Antetokounmpo keeps this level of dominance up, then yes.

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