Giannis Antetokounmpo capped off his fantastic season for the Milwaukee Bucks winning his first Most Valuable Player of the Year trophy.
The 24-year-old beat out James Harden and Paul George to win the award, delivering a moving speech as he accepted the trophy.
A tearful Antetokounmpo honoured his late father, who passed away in 2017, speaking on how he motivates him to play as hard as he does:
"Obviously my dad is not here with me..." Antetokounmpo said. "Two years ago I had to go in my head that I'm going to be the best player in the league, that I'm going to do whatever it takes to help my team win and that I'm going to win the MVP and every day that I step on the floor I always think about my dad.
"That motivates me and pushes me to play hard and move forward even when my body's sore, even when I don't feel like playing I always go show up."
Giannis got emotional as he paid tribute to his family while accepting the #KiaMVP trophy. 🙏#NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/T8p5XH73cZ
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 25, 2019
Antetokounpo also paid tribute to his brothers and mother who were in attendance to watch him claim the trophy.
"I love you guys man, you guys are my ride or dies," Antetokounmpo said of his brothers. "You guys are my role models man, I look up to you guys. Thank you for everything you guys do for me. And I want to thank my amazing mom, she's my hero.
"You don't see the future right? And if you have a good parent, your parent sees the future for you and she always saw the future in us and she always believed in us, she was always there for us. She's the foundation of this family. You're my true hero, you're my true hero."
In his sixth season with the Bucks, Antetokounmpo averaged career-highs in points, rebounds and assists, posting 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 blocks per game and was named to the all-defensive first team and was a unanimous selection to the All-NBA first team.
He also becomes just the fourth non-American born player to win the MVP award, following Hakeem Olajuwon, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki.
