Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s case for Defensive Player of the Year
The complete case
Giannis Antetokounmpo is having a truly historic season and, if he keeps his current pace, he has a great chance to be crowned the league’s MVP for the first time in his career.
Even with this unbelievable season playing out, Antetokounmpo has still been somewhat overlooked, though, as he is not mentioned quite as frequently among the favorites to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
If voters take a close look at the Bucks’ success, they will see that Antetokounmpo’s efforts on that end of the floor have been just as impactful as his incredibly efficient offensive skillset. Considering how central Milwaukee’s defense has been to their team success overall, it would seem puzzling not to take a closer look at Antetokounmpo’s contributions in that department too.
At this point, Giannis’ play should be starting to put the pressure on voters to find reasons for why he wouldn’t be the DPOY.
Antetokounmpo’s team is the most dominant defensive team in the league, he is the best defensive player on that team, all box score stats and advanced metrics point to him being notably dominant in a league-wide context, and he has no end to standout plays, moments and performances for him to pass the eye test with flying colors.
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There’s nothing left to prove. Giannis Antetokounmpo should be the DPOY, and Michael and Hakeem should be getting ready for company in that incredibly exclusive club.