In the NBA's first awards show, two Milwaukee Bucks brought home some sweet hardware. Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the NBA's Most Improved Player, and teammate Malcolm Brogdon was voted the league's Rookie of the Year.
Brogdon became the second Milwaukee player to win Rookie of the Year; he's in good company with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who went home with the award after the 1969-1970 season. Brogdon played in 75 games for Milwaukee, starting 28 of them this season - including six of the Bucks' 2017 playoffs games He led all rookies in assists (4.2) and steals (1.1) per game, and finished second in field goal percentage beyond the arc as well as free-throw percentage (.865). Brogdon became just one of five rookies in NBA history to shoot better than 40 percent from three while averaging at least four assists per game. He became the first rookie Buck to notch a triple-double on Dec. 31 in Chicago, when he dropped 15 points with 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
Brogdon was also a unanimous selection to the NBA's All-Rookie First team, the league announced earlier Monday. Antetokounmpo also earned an All-Defensive Second Team nod, the first for a Buck since Alvin Robertson in 1990-1991.
Antetokounmpo is the first Buck to win Most Improved Player, after setting career highs in scoring (22.9 points per game), rebounding (8.8 rebounds per game), assists (5.4 per game), blocks (1.9 per game) and steals (1.6 per game) in his fourth season. He played almost the same average of minutes this year as last, but increased his scoring average from 16.9 points per game to 22.9 in 2016-17. The "Greek Freak" became the fifth player in NBA history to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in a season, and the first ever to finish in the top 20 for total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. He also had his first All-Star appearance in February.
