2021-22 NBA awards and Finals predictions: Will any Pistons win awards?

Most Valuable Player: Giannis Antetokounmpo-Milwaukee Bucks

It’s crazy to say that Giannis, who is probably already a top-15 player of All-Time, is underrated, but that is where we are.

Nearly all of the experts are picking Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic or Joel Embiid for this award, but with no offense to those guys (or LeBron James), none of them are as good as Giannis on both ends. I should also add that Nikola Jokic, the reigning MVP, is getting very little love even though he is just entering his prime and should have a healthy roster around him this season.

But Giannis put the league on notice this preseason by unleashing a new-look jumper that he was very comfortable knocking down. He hit both mid-range and 3-point shots at a high clip (albeit on a small sample size) and if he adds those to his game, it is over.

Even without a mid-range jumper Giannis was nearly impossible to defend, as he showed in his historic run in the Finals last season.

I thought he should have won his 3rd straight MVP last season but the voters will get it right this time after Giannis puts up stats that give them no choice.

Giannis has just been quietly going about his business of improving himself and his team this offseason and hasn’t had to deal with the drama some of these other teams have, so I like him to take home the MVP and another title while the “super teams” watch from home.