The Bucks were knocked out of the playoffs by the eventual NBA champs, but they’re still bringing some hardware back to Milwaukee.
The team cleaned up at the 2019 NBA Awards on Monday night, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo being named the league’s Most Valuable Player. Mike Budenholzer also took home Coach of the Year honors, and general manager Jon Horst is Executive of the Year. This likely means Giannis won’t have to wait around for his damn tacos anymore like the rest of us normies.
The Greek Freak dominated on the court, averaging 27.7 points and 12.5 boards per game. But he also dominated the MVP race, outpacing the Rockets’ James Harden 78-23 in first-place votes. During his acceptance speech, Giannis tearfully thanked his family and teammates, most notably his father Charles, who died suddenly in 2017.
“We started from nothing as a family,” he said. “And we are going to be in every stage that we can be as a family.”
“Every day that I step on the floor, I always think about my dad and that motivates me to play harder.” pic.twitter.com/H0Ky6YSldH
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) June 25, 2019
Antetokounmpo is the second Buck to be named MVP, after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar thrice in the ’70s. He’s also the city of Milwaukee’s second recent MVP; the Brewers’ Christian Yelich won National League baseball honors last fall. It’s a far cry from the days when the most notable thing about the city’s sports teams was Craig Counsell’s weird-ass batting stance.
Budenholzer, meanwhile, scored his second career Coach of the Year trophy. (He first won with the Atlanta Hawks in 2015.) Like Giannis, he’s also only the second person in franchise history to win his award, after Don Nelson twice in the ’80s. In his speech, the usually animated Bud thanked not just the team, but the very patient sportswriters who voted him in.
“From the start of the year to the end of the year, what the team did is amazing… This award is about our team, so thank you.” pic.twitter.com/wYn77rwY8M
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) June 25, 2019
“I have to be the most boring interview in the league, so thank you for not holding that against me,” Bud quipped, having apparently forgotten about Kawhi Leonard.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate myself for being mostly correct in my analysis of Bud’s hiring. Where’s my award, NBA? Lou Williams is now a three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner. It’s time to give it to someone whose career basketball highlight is a third-place finish in his fantasy league.
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