Giannis Antetokounmpo Voted NBA's Defensive Player of the Year
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Tuesday, Giannis Antetokounmpo was voted NBA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the fifth player to win that award and MVP in a career.
The Milwaukee Bucks All-Star, who was MVP last year and is the favorite to repeat this season, ended the two-year reign of Utah center Rudy Gobert as Defensive Player of the Year.
Antetokounmpo received 75 first-place votes from a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters, finishing with 432 points. Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis was second (200 points; 14 first-place votes) and Gobert (187 points; six first-place votes) third.
Antetokounmpo joined Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Kevin Garnett as players to do the MVP-Defensive Player of the Year double.
He led the Bucks to the NBA's best record and helped them limit opponents to 101.6 points per 100 possessions, the league's top defensive rating, as of March 11. Voting was conducted on games through then, before the season was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.