The Milwaukee Bucks were largely an afterthought during the NBA’s 2020-21 regular season as they finished third place in the Eastern Conference.
They got off to a tremendously slow start as the team tried to integrate new pieces into the mix and try new schemes, which saw them fall out of the spotlight quickly. Due to their slow start and the likely factor of voter fatigue stemming from the previous two seasons, 2020-21 marked the first time in the Mike Budenholzer coaching era that the Bucks did not have a single player take home a regular season award.
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Of course, their absence from the award voting ultimately did not matter as the team managed to achieve much greater glory by winning the championship and bringing home their first title in 50 years.
As the Bucks gear up to defend their title during the 2021-22 season, it is a safe bet that there will be a handful of players competing for awards at the conclusion of the regular season. With that being said, here are which ones might make the cut.
Giannis Antetokounmpo could win MVP with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021-22
Despite putting up dominant numbers with the Bucks last year, Giannis Antetokounmpo received hardly any consideration for league MVP honors.
In fact, he would not even finish as a finalist in the voting, which certainly rubbed some people the wrong way. However, it was always clear that the team’s previous two flameouts in the playoffs would hinder his case from the beginning. After winning MVP in each of the previous two years only for the Bucks to collapse in the postseason, the voters simply got fatigued and did not even bat an eye at the Greek Freak this time around.
After the fantastic playoff run that Antetokounmpo just had that ended with him hoisting his first Finals MVP, he will undeniably get the respect he deserves next season. If the forward can put up similarly dominant numbers as he does during the regular season and the Bucks can be near the top of the Eastern Conference – which they almost certainly will be – then this award seems like it will be Antetokounmpo’s for the taking.
At 26-years-old, Antetokounmpo will be gunning for his third league MVP next season, although he would certainly rather take home another Finals MVP instead. Nevertheless, this is strictly for regular season awards, and it should not be a surprise if Antetokounmpo makes a near unbeatable case to reclaim the MVP award next season.