“Jumped on the Table”: Giannis Antetokounmpo Reveals Bucks Coach’s Reaction to DPOY Result
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We finally have our Defensive Player of the Year for the 2019/20 season! After a year filled with monstrous performances and setting new standards for himself, reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was bestowed his first DPOY honor. But, how did the news break out to him? We know Giannis would have been confident about winning, but who informed him that he’d won?
The 25-year-old sat alongside his coach for a press meet, where he mentioned how the team broke the news to him. The reigning MVP was polite enough to ask coach Budenholzer if he can spill the beans. After getting the approval, Giannis began the story.
“Coach Bud told me after Game 4,” Giannis revealed. “We were in the locker room and it was just players in there and coaches. Usually, when coach wants to talk to us after a game, somebody messed up. Somebody did something, right?”
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“So in my head, I’m like, ‘Okay.’ I’m looking around like who did something, because I know I didn’t do nothing,” he exclaimed. However, the silence quickly broke into joy inside the locker room. “Coach was so excited. He was so happy and he told me I won the Defensive Player of the Year and jumped on the table,” Giannis continued.
Here is @Giannis_An34 asking Bud if he can tell reporters how he found out he won DPoY, telling the story, letting it slip Bud jumped on a table and then my follow-up for Bud about jumping on a table.
Talked about this in my story at @TheAthleticWISC: https://t.co/gygSXXjHZB pic.twitter.com/6W01sPlgdl
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) August 26, 2020
Soon enough Giannis was stopped by 55-year-old Budenholzer, who didn’t want the media to know that he jumped on the table for making the announcement. The 25-year-old then emotionally explained about the team spirit within the Bucks and how everyone heartily congratulated him. “I was about to tear up a little bit, but I didn’t want my teammates to see my crying,” Giannis said.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo en route to join elite NBA list
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Winning both the DPOY and the MVP honor in your career is extremely tough. There are only a few players who’ve managed to win both awards in their professional careers. Moreover, only two athletes in NBA history have won both awards in the same season.
Michael Jordan (1988), and Hakeem Olajuwon (1994), are the only two players to have been crowned MVP and DPOY in the same season. Just by looking at the quality of the two players and the lack of any other athlete’s presence might tell you how difficult it is to achieve this feat.
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However, Giannis could well and truly be on course to etching his name in this list. He dominated the DPOY voting, and people think he just might dominate the MVP standings as well. There are several people who state their support for LeBron James, but Giannis is clearly the frontrunner.
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Hence, we might see a new name on the list for the first time in 26 years. Brace yourselves, Bucks fans, for your star is about to make history!
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