Giannis Antetokounmpo is not focused on his chances of succeeding LeBron James as the NBA Cup MVP, instead prioritising team success as the Milwaukee Bucks prepare to face the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Bucks reached Tuesday's showpiece game by overcoming the Atlanta Hawks 110-102 in Saturday's semifinal, behind 32 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists from Antetokounmpo.

The former league MVP has averaged 32 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists throughout Milwaukee's six NBA Cup games and is seen as the outstanding candidate to be named competition MVP if they lift the trophy.

LeBron James won the NBA Cup's inaugural MVP award last season after guiding the Los Angeles Lakers to the title, but succeeding him is not Antetokounmpo's main aim.

"I don't really think about that. I go out there, I try to compete, play at a high level and try to improve as much as I can," he said while on pre-game media duty.

"I think when you approach the game that way, things like being in the finals of the NBA Cup, winning the championship... things like that just fall into place. 

"I think any player that approaches the game thinking, all season, 'I want to win the MVP, I want to do that, I want to do this...' if that is the main goal, it won't happen. You approach the game the wrong way and you're thinking about yourself.

"I wanted always to be one of the best players to ever play, like every kid that plays basketball. You always think about that."

Schemin'. pic.twitter.com/B8FX9lnZYY

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 17, 2024

Reaching the NBA Cup final represents a remarkable turnaround for Milwaukee, who started the season 2-8 but have since won 12 of their last 15 games.

"I guess for us, we were struggling early, and the Cup started and we said, 'Let's win it.' That told me that our team believed what I believed; that we're going to be good," head coach Doc Rivers said.

"We're going to be a really good team at some point. It just took longer than we thought, and now we're here."

The NBA Cup was introduced last year as a means of bringing greater jeopardy to the early stages of the regular season, and Antetokounmpo feels it has achieved that goal.

"I love that the NBA adapted this system. Within the regular season you have games that mean more," Antetokounmpo said.

"When you come here, you have two games that bring a lot of attention to basketball, to the NBA. It's not necessarily always the best NBA team that's going to win the Cup. 

"It's who is going to play the best basketball in those knockout games, which I love. The NBA has figured out ways to bring more attention to the game, and the Cup is an example."