LeBron James Giannis Antetokounmpo
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Jared Dudley picked LeBron James over Giannis Antetokounmpo for the 2019/20 NBA MVP.

The forward of the Los Angeles Lakers gave his reasoning as to why he would give his teammate the slight advantage over the reigning MVP and leader of the Milwaukee Bucks.

“LeBron where he’s at now, leading the league in assists. Getting challenged by Anthony Davis defensively and not only holding the challenge, but taking the challenge to a whole another level.

Going toward the end, he’s guarding the second- or third-best players in the league, in my opinion, in Giannis and Kawhi. He’s guarding them at 35. He’s guarding them the majority of the game, fourth quarter, with his reputation on the line defensively.

People say he’s trying to save energy, but he’s guarding them and we’re winning. It’s because of that. Now, offensively he’s still carrying the load and the difference between him and these other players is his ability to get everybody involved.

Who really deserves the MVP this season? Both deserve it. Do I think LeBron is a little bit more deserving? Yes. Do I think Giannis’ stats are better? Yes. But the MVP is not necessarily the best stats. That’s why I’m giving LeBron the edge.

I’ll be the first one to tell everybody, I think Giannis’ stats are a little bit better, but I believe LeBron has been more valuable this year,” Dudley told Michael Lee of The Athletic.