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Giannis Antetokounmpo, winner of the Best Male Athlete award, attends The 2019 ESPYs at Microsoft Theater on July 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Giannis Antetokounmpo Wins 'Best Male Athlete' & 'Best NBA Player' of the Year Awards at 2019 ESPYS

It's safe to say the Greek-Nigerian athlete is having an incredible year.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is having a stellar year. After being named Most Valuable Player at the NBA Awards last month, the star athlete took home both the Best Male Athlete of the year award and the Best NBA Player of the year at last night's ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) Awards.

It was the Greek-Nigerian player's first time being nominated for Best Male Athlete, and he beat out the likes of Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and golf star Brooks Koepka to earn the win.

He was up against fellow NBA stars James Harden, Kevin Durant and Paul George for Best NBA Player of the year. This year was the player's second time being nominated for the award and his first win.

The 24-year-old athlete was all smiles when he took to the stage to accept the award for Best Male Athlete, jokingly referencing his heartfelt MVP speech and telling the audience: "this won't be like the NBA speech, I'm not going to cry today."

"When you believe in your dreams, things like this can happen," he added.

The annual ESPY Awards, established in 1993, recognize achievement in the sports world by honoring its best players across various fields. With his breakout performance in the league this year, it makes sense that Antetokounmpo would receive not one but two of these prestigious awards.

News Brief
Giannis Antetokounmpo, winner of the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player award, poses in the press room during the 2019 NBA Awards presented by Kia on TNT at Barker Hangar on June 24, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Turner Sports)

Giannis Antetokounmpo Named 'Most Valuable Player' at 2019 NBA Awards

The Greek-Nigerian forward is the third youngest player to win the award in 40 years.

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, was named MVP at the NBA Awards on Monday.

With his win, the Greek-born, Nigerian player has become the third youngest player to win the award in 40 years, after Derrick Rose and LeBron James.

The 24-year-old forward, beat out the likes of James Harden, Paul George, Nikola Jokic and Steph Curry, to earn the most first-place votes. He earned a total of 78 out of the 101 possible first-place voted, as ESPN reports.

He is the second Buck to win the award, following the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

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Image via Flickr.

Greek-Nigerian NBA Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Named 2019 All-Star Game Captain

He'll face-off with LeBron James as head of this year's Eastern Conference team.

The 2019 NBA All-Star games are right around the corner, and all eyes will be on Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who's just been chosen as this year's team captain for the East.

Greek-born, Nigerian player has been selected to head the team through a three-pronged voting process, and will face off with NBA giant, LeBron James who will head the West coast team. The Western Conference won last year's game with James as captain.

READ: LeBron James Really Wants to Play In an NBA Africa Game

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