Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mike Budenholzer pick up December Eastern Conference awards
By Adam McGee
The Milwaukee Bucks’ outstanding December was recognized with Eastern Conference awards for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mike Budenholzer.
Much like November before it, December proved to be another banner month for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks kicked on with their conference-leading and league best record, battled through notable injuries without missing a beat, and defeated multiple rivals who they meet again in their quest for a title.
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With all of that considered, when the NBA announced the recipients of its awards for the month of December on Thursday, there was no shortage of reason to celebrate for the Bucks.
Milwaukee claimed a pair of Eastern Conference awards for the final calendar month of 2019, with Giannis Antetokounmpo being named as Eastern Conference Player of the Month, and Mike Budenholzer picking up the conference’s Coach of the Month award.
Antetokounmpo was also the recipient of the award for October/November, making him the only winner of the award so far this season. In fact, somewhat amazingly, Antetokounmpo has picked up the award on six of the last seven occasions its been given out, with Joel Embiid being the only other player to get his hands on the award (once) since the start of last season.
That speaks to the reigning MVP’s astounding consistency, and ever-growing dominance in the Eastern Conference. On this occasion, across 13 games in December, Antetokounmpo averaged 29.5 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists, on 55 percent shooting from the field and just under 40 percent from deep.
Antetokounmpo’s play was certainly central to guiding the Bucks to a 13-2 record, but Budenholzer also deserves his share of credit, which made him a very deserving winner of the Coach of the Month award.
In December, the Bucks picked up signature wins against teams such as the LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Indiana Pacers.
Perhaps even more impressively, Budenholzer ensured the Bucks didn’t miss a beat throughout a month in which Khris Middleton started by playing limited minutes following his own return from injury, Eric Bledsoe missed eight consecutive games through his own injury issues, while Bledsoe’s final two absences also coincided with Giannis being sidelined.
For Coach Bud, this was his third time winning the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month award since arriving in Milwaukee in the summer of 2018.
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Through just over two months of the 2019-20 season, the Bucks are racking up awards just as they did last season. If they can continue to rack up victories at their current pace, repeat wins in end of season awards may well come into play too.