Giannis Antetokounmpo addresses trade report, reaffirms commitment to Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo addressed a trade report after practice on Oct. 8, during which he reaffirmed his commitment to team.
The NBA published its annual survey of general managers on Oct. 9, and while the Milwaukee Bucks tumbled out of the championship conversation for league executives, the team did shock them all with a pair of moves.
Bucks made most surprising moves of offseason
The waive and stretch of Damian Lillard earned 43% of the general manager’s votes for the most surprising move of the offseason, which was followed then by the signing of free-agent center Myles Turner at 30%.
The next-closest surprising moves garnered just 7% of the vote.
That said, such moves did not increase the Bucks’ chances to win the title according to their rivals, as no executive picked them to win the NBA Finals or the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee did receive some No. 2 seed votes (3%), as well as No. 3 (10%) and No. 4 (13%) votes.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is not MVP, but NBA’s most versatile
Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the league’s best power forward for the seventh straight season, earning 93% of the votes. San Antonio Hall of Famer Tim Duncan earned that distinction eight straight seasons from 2002-10.
Antetokounmpo tied with San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama (30%) as the league’s most versatile player.
Antetokounmpo also received a vote for league MVP but did not crack the top four, which included Nikola Jokić (67%), Luka Dončić (10%), reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (8%) and Wembanyama (7%).
The Bucks star finished tied for fourth in the voting for the player that is the league’s best leader (7%).
Antetokounmpo trailed only Jokić as the player who forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments for, but surprisingly the Greek hero did not receive a vote for the best international player in the league.
Jokić (Serbia) ran away with that vote (93%), while Dončić (Slovenia) and Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada) also received votes.
Antetokounmpo also received votes as the league’s best defensive player but is considered the third-most versatile defender in the league (13%) behind Houston’s Amen Thompson (18%) and Golden State’s Draymond Green (17%).
Antetokounmpo also received a vote for being the league’s most athletic player.
Did any other Bucks receive votes?
Technically, yes.
Darvin Ham received a vote for best assistant coach in the league. But head coach Doc Rivers did not receive any votes, nor did any other player.
The team received a vote under the category of “level of success this season is toughest to predict.”