The 2019 NBA awards provided some of the best off the court drama this side of the television season.
The 2019 NBA awards provided some of the best off the court drama this side of the television season. Word to Shaq Diesel.
The phrase of the night was it’s bigger than basketball, and that analogy couldn’t be more appropriate for last night’s winners.
From the most valuable player to the rookie of the year the 2019 NBA award winners proved that the NBA’s mission to make basketball a global game has finally come into fruition.
NBA Champion: Toronto
MVP: Nigeria/Greece
MIP: Cameroon
ROY: Slovenia
DPOY: France
A global game 🌍 pic.twitter.com/YxTXUT5U8i
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 25, 2019
Dallas Mavs’ Luka Doncic won the 2019 ROY, and the Utah Jazz’ Rudy Gorbet won his second Defensive Player Of The Year award. You could make the argument that these accolades were set in stone before the playoffs began, but here we are.
But the highlight of the night was watching Milwaukee’s young phenom, Giannis Antetokounmpo ascension to become third-youngest to win MVP in 40 years.
The Greek Freak’s story is a familiar one to kids who are the by-product of immigrant parents. The death of his father and motivation from the Black Mamba himself fueled his dominance.
“MVP is not about stats and numbers. It is all about winning and all about making sure you go out there and do everything you can to win,” Antetokounmpo said through tears. “I think that is what we did as a team.”
You can check out the full list of NBA Award winners here.
