Giannis Antetokounmpo has been one of the best players in the NBA for years. He’s a two-time MVP winner, having won the award back-to-back in 2019 and 2020, and he’s an NBA champion and Finals MVP from when he led the Milwaukee Bucks to the title in 2021. Now, he’s an NBA Cup champion and MVP as well after dominating the NBA’s second edition of its in-season tournament.
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Giannis’ brother Thanasis celebrated the Bucks’ NBA Cup win, and their recent stretch of red-hot play, on his podcast Thanalysis on Friday. Thanasis is currently a free agent after having surgery to repair a torn Achilles he suffered in May, but he has close ties to the Bucks, having played for them for the past five seasons.
Thanasis had an interesting take when his co-host brought up the possibility of Giannis taking home a third MVP this year:
“Put the MVP on the side. Defensive Player of the Year, bro.”
Thanasis went on to point out that Giannis has not only been a phenomenal defensive player throughout his career, but he’s been even better when it matters most, as he’s blocked even more shots in closeout games. A quick look at the stats shows that he’s right.
In Milwaukee’s three wins in the NBA Cup elimination round, Giannis blocked four shots against the Magic, four shots against the Hawks, and three shots in the championship game against the Thunder. The Bucks as a team played their best defensive game of the season against the current Western Conference-leading Thunder, holding OKC to just 81 points.
Giannis does have one Defensive Player of the Year award on his resume, which he won in 2020. He’s also made four NBA All-Defensive First Teams and one Second Team but was snubbed last year.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has led the Bucks back into contention
The Bucks got off to a horrendous start this year, dropping eight of their first 10 games to sink near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Since then though, they’ve been one of the hottest teams in the league with a 13-3 record, which has helped them quickly climb all the way to fifth in the East.
Giannis’ scoring gets the attention, and with 32.7 points per game to lead the league, why shouldn’t it? Equally important to his game and the Bucks’ turnaround is his defense, though, and it’s one aspect of his game that could give him a leg up on his fellow MVP hopefuls.
Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is currently the favorite to win his fourth MVP in five years thanks to being top three in the league in points, rebounds, and assists, but if Giannis is able to win the scoring title while continuing to shoot over 60 percent from the floor, voters could decide to look at his defensive advantage over the Serbian big man and give him an edge.
Competition will also be fierce for the Defensive Player of the Year Award, with Victor Wembanyama and his league-leading 3.5 blocks per game the heavy favorite. Giannis is currently +4000 to win according to FanDuel, but if you believe what his brother is saying, his odds to actually win are much better than that.
