The Milwaukee Bucks are the only team who has not lost in the Group Stage of the NBA Cup the past two seasons.
Their only loss came in the knockout round a year ago.
Earlier this week, the Bucks advanced to the semifinals in Vegas where they will face off with Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. The MVP will most certainly come from the NBA Cup champions as the sample is so small. Criteria for the NBA Cup MVP was announced and stated, the MVP, “will be based on the players’ performance in both Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.”
In NBA.com’s most recent NBA Cup MVP ladder, Giannis Antetokounmpo comes in only behind Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander while Damian Lillard is third.
During the NBA Cup, Antetokounmpo has compiled 31.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting an incendiary 70.6 percent from the field. Despite his league-leading 22 turnovers during the Cup, NBA.com’s Matthew Petersen described the Greek Freak’s dominance, “He has doubled down on what makes him great on offense—a career-high 96.3% of his shot attempts this season are 2-pointers, and a career-high 59.2% of his makes are unassisted.”
Antetokounmpo’s co-star Lillard is also performing at a high-level. During the tournament, Lillard is averaging 29.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 9.8 assists while shooting an efficient 51.5 percent from the field. Petersen explained how Antetokounmpo benefits from Lillard, “Lillard’s raw stats do not fully account for what his presence brings to the game. Take away his 9.3 attempts from 3-point range on 48.6% shooting in Cup play, and how much less room does Antetokounmpo have to wreak havoc?”
For Milwaukee to win the NBA Cup and Antetokounmpo or Lillard to win Cup MVP, they first need to clear their penultimate obstacle of the pesky Hawks in the semifinals on Saturday. Atlanta won the season’s first meeting between the two Eastern Conference foes by a score of 119-104 on December 4th.
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