National Basketball Association

Could Giannis Antetokounmpo win Finals MVP, even if Bucks lose series vs. Suns?

Updated Jul. 29, 2021 9:42 p.m. ET

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If there's one player who has further cemented his superstar status during these NBA Finals, it's "The Greek Freak."

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been an unstoppable force for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Phoenix Suns, averaging 34.3 points, 14.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game ⁠— all on 62.5% shooting.

He posted 40-plus points and 10-plus rebounds in Games 2 and 3, joining Shaquille O'Neal in the 2000 Finals as the only other player in NBA history to accomplish that feat in back-to-back Finals games.

And he's doing it all on the heels of a gruesome-looking injury suffered on June 29 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, one Antetokounmpo admitted he thought would rule him out for a year.

Instead, he missed just two games with a hyperextended left knee, making a surprise return for Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

However, despite his heroic efforts, the Bucks are still down 2-1 in the series heading into Wednesday's Game 4 in Milwaukee.

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With the series at or approaching a midway point ⁠— depending on how things shake out ⁠— it makes sense to discuss the early leaders for the Finals MVP award.

If the Bucks rally to win the series, it'd be flabbergasting if Antetokounmpo didn't walk away with the award. But what if the Bucks don't win? Should Antetokounmpo, assuming he maintains a similar output to what he has so far, still take home the trophy?

If he did, it would be nearly unprecedented.

Just once in NBA history, in 1969, has the Finals MVP been awarded to a player on the losing team, when Jerry West won the award despite the Los Angeles Lakers losing Game 7 to the Boston Celtics.

That was the first year the award was handed out.

Every year since, it has gone to a player on the team that also lifted the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

On "First Things First," Nick Wright made the case not only for Antetokounmpo to get the honor ⁠— win or lose ⁠— but Wright also offered up some revisionist history. 

To Wright's point, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged 32.6 points, 12.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.1 blocks for the Bucks in a 4-3 series loss against the Celtics in 1974. John Havlicek, who won the award, averaged 26.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.9 steals for the series.

In the case of LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015, he averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists in a 4-2 series loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Instead, the award went to Andre Iguodala, who posted per-game averages of 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 steals, while being tasked with defending James.

However, Chris Broussard argued that the Finals MVP award should be a "celebratory award," and therefore go to a player on the winning team.

With the Suns presently out in front, Broussard pointed to Chris Paul as the sensible choice.

"Finals MVP is not about being the best individual player," Broussard said. "It is about what individual contributes most to his team winning. All right? That's it. … It's about who's best in that series as far as helping his team win. … If it was voted right now, it would have to be Chris Paul."

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Chris Broussard decides whether CP3 or Giannis deserves Finals MVP right now ' FIRST THINGS FIRST

Chris Broussard decides whether Chris Paul or Giannis Antetokounmpo deserves the honor of Finals MVP.

Paul isn't holding a candle to Antetokounmpo's numbers, but then again, nobody in this series is.

Still, his 24.7 PPG, 8.7 APG and 2.7 RPG aren't anything to necessarily sneeze at.

Even so, Wright countered Broussard by contending that the Finals MVP award should serve as a historical record of who the best player was in each Finals series.

As it stands, the series between the Bucks and Suns is far from over. If Antetokounmpo can power the Bucks to back-to-back wins, the Finals will be headed back to the desert evened up at two games apiece.

And if he keeps pushing beyond that and the Bucks win it all, there will be little debate if he's awarded Finals MVP.

But if the Suns thwart that attempt? The voters will have a big decision on their hands, and we might witness something that hasn't been done in more than half a century.

For more up-to-date news on all things NBA, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app! 

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National Basketball Association

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee Bucks

Phoenix Suns

Chris Paul

Chris Broussard

Nick Wright

First Things First