An anonymous All Star said Giannis is not deserving of the Defensive Player of the Year nod following his postseason performances.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo was a runaway winner of this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award. He garnered 75 of the 100 first place votes, with Anthony Davis getting 10 and Rudy Gobert getting 14 of them. Surprisingly enough, Andre Drummond was also #1 on one voter’s list.
‘Giannis not deserving of Defensive Player of the Year’ – anonymous All Star
ESPN’s Tim McMahon posted a tweet this evening making a revelation about Giannis following the 2018-19 MVP’s post-game interview yesterday.
The NBA executive feels that Giannis does not deserve the defensive player of the year award, as he isn’t a ‘lockdown’ defender. He also emphasised on how Bucks need someone else to step up to the plate in order to shut down the brilliance of Jimmy Butler
An All-Star suggested to me that Giannis Antetokounmpo shouldn’t be the Defensive Player of the Year because he’s not a lockdown defender who shuts down other stars. The Bucks clearly need someone to take that challenge with Jimmy Butler. https://t.co/JvH2PAicNG
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) September 1, 2020
This opinion holds some merit because Giannis is neither that great a shot-blocker, nor is he a stifling defender on the perimeter.
Despite being great overall defensively, Giannis has never really been able to guard and shut down a star player through a series. Thus, even though he is no defensive liability as such, he isn’t that ‘defensive leader’ you turn to when an opposition star is scoring at will.
But the Defensive Player of the Year award has predominantly been won by players playing the big man role. Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert are the last 2 winners of this trophy. 6 different centers/power forwards have been awarded the Defensive Player of the Year trophy over the course of the 2010s.
The Milwaukee Bucks are facing a tough task in the Conference Semifinals. This Miami Heat team is a well-rounded, well-coached outfit. They have shooters galore in Duncan Robinson, Olynyk, Herro and Dragic among others. They also have a ton of versatility, while also having 2 All Stars on their team.
Giannis will really need to step up and take responsibility on both ends of the court, else, Heat could really run away with the series.
