Milwaukee Bucks power forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo of Nigerian descent was honoured as the Most Valuable Player of the recently concluded basketball season at an award ceremony last night. The NBA Awards ceremony which held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California was hosted by Hall of Famer, Shaquille O’Neal.
This is Giannis’ first MVP NBA nomination and win ever. It also serves as some form of compensation after his team lost the Eastern Conference Finals to the Toronto Raptors. He was also nominated as the NBA’s most defensive player of the year.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is 6 feet 11 inches, 242 pounds and is extremely athletic leading to his being named the ‘Greek freak’. He is the first Greek NBA All-star and he joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only Milwaukee Bucks players to ever earn MVP honors.
While giving his heartfelt speech, he thanked his teammates, coach, and his father who had died of a heart attack in 2017. His coach, Mike Budenholzer, also won the NBA Coach of the Year award.
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Other winners of the night include:
- 2019 NBA Rookie of the Year – Luka Dončić of Dallas Mavericks
- 2019 NBA Defensive Player of the Year – Rudy Gobert of Utah Jazz
- 2019 NBA Sixth Man award – Lou Williams of LA Clippers
- NBA Most Improved Player – Pascal Siakam of Toronto Raptors
- NBA Basketball Executive of the Year – Jon Horst of Milwaukee Bucks
- Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award – Mike Conley of Memphis Grizzlies
- NBA Sportsmanship Award – Mike Conley of Memphis Grizzlies
- NBA Cares Community Assist Award – Bradley Beal of Washington Wizards
- House of Highlights Moment of the Year – Derrick Rose of Minnesota Timberwolves
- Hustle Award – Marcus Smart of Boston Celtics
- Sager Strong Award – Robin Roberts
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird
