Saying the Milwaukee Bucks have a future MVP on their roster right now feels more like merely stating facts than making some kind of bold prediction. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s rise to superstardom has been incredible to watch, and the 22-year-old from Greece is posting MVP-caliber stats through the early stages of this season.
However, Kevin Garnett is willing to step out on a limb and proclaim that the Bucks have someone else other than Antetokounmpo on their roster that will be an NBA MVP in the future.
Garnett spoke with Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Abrams recently and his work with Bucks’ center Thon Maker came up. Garnett raved about the talents and abilities of Maker, who has incredible length, and proclaimed him to be a future MVP.
“Thon is going to be the MVP of the league one day,” Garnett said. “Mark it down. He has the bones. He has the appetite to be able to chase something like that.”
It’s extremely high praise from Garnett and certainly a bold prediction from the former MVP himself. Maker is averaging 4.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in under 20 minutes a night this season, which indicates just how big of a jump he has to make. That said, he’s certainly an intriguing prospect and someone the Bucks hopes develops into a star.
Garnett has been working with Maker at different times over the course of the past year (along with a number of other young bigs) and sees something special in the young center. Maker’s path to an MVP is difficult enough with how many steps he’ll need to take to get there, but it’s compounded by the fact that it’s been over a decade since a big man won the award.
The dominance of wing players and guards over the NBA in its most recent evolution is best evidenced by the list of MVP winners. Dirk Nowitzki (2007) is the last power forward to win the award, and he’s far from a traditional big man, while Garnett (2004), Tim Duncan (2002, 2003) and Shaq (2000) are the other most recent bigs to take home an MVP. Maker will have to become someone truly transcendent to break that streak and find a way to outshine his star teammate, but Garnett seems to think he’s got the skills and drive to do it.
