"Any difference in roster quality is not enough to win Harden MVP ...
"Milwaukee is 7.5 games ahead of Houston. Its scoring margin with Antetokounmpo on the floor is double Houston's with Harden. If those numbers were closer, the roster-quality argument would win the day for Harden. You can't punish Antetokounmpo for leading a healthier, more talented roster if he led it to its proper endpoint."
"Who had the better 2018-19 season? I would go (ever so narrowly) with Giannis. On top of all his individual superlatives, Antetokounmpo has been the face and chief culture-setter in the Bucks’ transformation from 44-win underachiever to the best team in the league (regular-season edition). And his candidacy gets bonus points on our scorecard because Milwaukee, for Eastern Conference supremacy, had to beat out a trio of worthy challengers who were all projected as superior before the season."
"The Bucks have sat atop the Eastern Conference for months, Giannis is doing it at both ends (he’s a sneaky strong candidate for Defensive Player of the Year) and then there is this: The difference between Giannis and the second-best player on his team, Khris Middleton, is far greater than the difference between other MVP candidates and the second-best player on their teams."
"Every star player exerts some kind of pressure on his opponents, but what separates Giannis is that he’s exerting pressure constantly ... Antetokounmpo will fly around throughout a defensive possession, run the floor in transition, and then attack a set defense from the top of the floor once the action slows down. He is a Defensive Player of the Year who averages 27.7 points per game, a top rebounder who runs a drive-and-kick offense, and the single most imposing force in the league."
"Because he’s a scorer, Harden’s moments feel iconic. His shots literally win games down the stretch. Antetokounmpo’s moments are more sublime. A chase-down block here or a staggering Euro-step dunk in transition over there.
"His moments are the reason his team wins games, but the Bucks don’t just win games. They blow teams out. A lot of Antetokounmpo’s best moments happen earlier in games mainly because his presence isn’t necessary down the stretch."
"Giannis Antetokounmpo was the league’s most consistently brilliant performer from the first whistle of training camp to the final buzzer of the 2018-19 regular season.
"The product of 'The Greek Freak' and his brilliant consistency was a league-best 60-win season that delivered the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs to the Bucks."
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