Who Won the 2019 NBA MVP Award?

The 2019 NBA MVP Award was given to Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. He beat out other finalists James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Greek Freak takes home first MVP trophy
Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks has been named the 2019 NBA Most Valuable Player. The Greek Freak earned the honor after a breakout season in which he averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game, leading the Bucks to the best record in the NBA.

This is the first MVP award for Antetokounmpo, who is just the third player in NBA history to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. He joins Michael Jordan (1988) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1994) as the only players to achieve that feat.

Antetokounmpo received 78 first-place votes and 855 total points from a panel of 100 media members, easily outdistancing second-place finisher James Harden of the Houston Rockets (13 first-place votes, 753 total points). Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder (7 first-place votes, 605 total points) was third, while Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors (4 first-place votes, 574 total points) was fourth.

James Harden

The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the first commissioner (then president) of the NBA, who served from 1946 until his retirement in 1963. Until the 1979–80 season, the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players. Since the 1980–81 season, has been selected by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Each member of the voting panel casts a vote for first to fifth place selections. Each first-place vote is worth 10 points; each second-place vote is worth seven; each third-place vote is worth five, fourth-place is worth three and fifth-place is worth one. Starting from 2010, one ballot was cast by fans through online voting. The player with the highest point total wins the award.’

James Harden of the Houston Rockets won the 2019 NBA MVP Award.

Paul George

Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder has been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for 2019. George received 864 total points and 190 first-place votes from a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.

Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors is the 2019 NBA MVP! He becomes just the third player in NBA history to win both an MVP and a Defensive Player of the Year award, joining Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.