MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) — The success of the Milwaukee Bucks this past season led to a slew of honors at the NBA awards show in LA on Monday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. Mike Budenholzer was named Coach Of The Year and GM Jon Horst was honored with the NBA Executive Of The Year Award.
Giannis gave an emotional acceptance speech that thanked his teammates, his coaching staff, the City of Milwaukee and his roots in Nigeria and Greece. He also thanked God and his family focusing on his father who passed away of a heart attack at the age of 53 in 2017. He said “Everyday that I step on the floor I always think about my dad and that motivates me and it pushes me to play harder and move forward. Even when my body’s sore , even when I don’t feel like playing I’m always going to show up and I’m always going to do the right thing.” He called his mother his hero as she watched from the audience.
He is the first Bucks MVP since Kareem Abdul Jabbar in 1974. He received 78 of 101 first place votes after leading ther league in player efficiency rating with a league best 30.9. He said the mission is still the same. Winning an NBA title in Milwaukee.
Budenholzer brought a new system to Milwaukee and it worked. He encouraged players to shoot from three-pooint range and gave them more freedom to create on offense while his “Lock down the paint” defense led by Giannis held opponents to the lowest 2-point field goal percentage in the league. He led the Bucks to their first 60 win season and a spot in the Eastern Conference finals.
Horst, who got the GM job two years ago and at 34, was the youngest GM in the league, built a roster that complemented his best player. He brought in Brook Lopez and later aquired Pat Connaughton, Ersan Ilasova, George Hill and Nikola Mirotic. The success of the team earned Horst a three year contract extension which keeps him in Milwaukee through 2023.
