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Giannis Antetokounmpo Building an Early MVP Case With Another Dominant Game

Giannis is on a whole other level.
Blake Silverman|
Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 37 points in the Bucks' win over the Knicks
Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 37 points in the Bucks' win over the Knicks | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

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Milwaukee BucksNew York Knicks

Four games is way too early to put any player near the top of the NBA's MVP conversation, but Giannis Antetokounmpo is making it hard to look away.

The "Greek Freak" continued his incredible start to the 2025–26 season Tuesday, scoring 37 points with eight rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in the Bucks' 121–111 win over the Knicks in primetime on NBC Tuesday. He's averaging a whopping 36.3 points over Milwaukee's first four games as they are off to a 3–1 start in a wide open Eastern Conference.

The two-time MVP dominated against New York as he triumphantly claimed Milwaukee as his city after an incredible two-way play Tuesday night.

Again, four games is way too soon to have legitimate MVP conversations, especially with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić out there, but Antetokounmpo has started to build his case in a strong way. In addition to the 36.3 points per game, he's averaging 14 rebounds, seven assists and 1.3 blocks a night. Somewhat ironically, his best performance came in the Bucks' only loss thus far where he had 40 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists, two blocks and two steals as Milwaukee fell to the Cavs Sunday. He's led the Bucks in points, rebounds and assists in each of their first four games, aside from Cole Anthony dishing a team-high nine assists against the Knicks Tuesday night.

Antetokounmpo has averaged 30 points or more in each of his past four seasons and was just under that mark five seasons ago with 29.9 points a night in his 2021-22 campaign. He may be hitting another level in his 13th NBA season, which is a scary thought for the rest of the league.

His next opportunity to continue the incredible tear comes Thursday as the Bucks take on the Warriors at home. It's still extremely early, but good luck to any MVP voters out there this year.

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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a writer at Sports Illustrated, primarily covering the NBA and WNBA. Before joining SI in November 2024 as a breaking/trending news writer, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation and A10Talk. He’s an alum of both Michigan State and St. Bonaventure University, receiving a master’s degree from the Bonnies’ sports journalism program. Outside of work, he’s a husband, father, yogi and fairly mediocre tennis player who’s open to any tips on how to play defense in EA Sports College Football.

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