Bucks Fan Vote Reveals MVP, Future Stars and the Team's Most Chaotic Personalities
We asked, you answered, and now, we can officially reveal the results for the Milwaukee Bucks' batch of year-end awards!
Shout-out to everyone who participated. You played a pivotal role in helping us dole out invaluable hardware. From the Bucks' MVP and most underrated player to their best trash-talker and zombie apocalypse savior, you covered all the most important bases.
So, who won each category? Let's get to the big reveals.
Stats accurate as of Sunday, April 12. Contract data via Spotrac.
Who Is the Most Valuable Player?
1 of 10
Winner: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo received much less than 99 percent of the vote than I assumed he would get. His 60 percent share is enough to win, but the second-place Ryan Rollins is much closer than I'd have ever anticipated (30 percent).
The charitable interpretation is that voters care deeply about games played. A more realistic read on the situation, however, may be that people are dinging Giannis for his role in turning his inevitable exit into one of the most drawn-out, potentially messy divorces of the modern era.
Behind-the-scenes dramatics in mind, he remains the lone real option. The Bucks' net rating with Giannis on the floor is about the same as the Los Angeles Lakers' mark with Luka Doncic. That is the beginning, middle and end of his MVP case.
Who Is Most Underrated?
2 of 10
Winner: Ryan Rollins
Presume that Ryan Rollins has transcended this discussion at your own risk. Most probably don't know that the only other players to have as many points and assists out of drives this season while shooting 50 percent or better on those plays are Deni Avdija and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Elsewhere, Ousmane Dieng has turned into a real does-a-bunch-of-stuff flier. Even amid shooting slumps, people still don't appreciate how much the half-court opens up with AJ Green in the game. Nabbing second place and 28 percent of the vote feels right but also weird given that he spent less than half of the season in Milwaukee.
Who Is the Best Athlete?
3 of 10
Winner: Giannis Antetokounmpo
After all these years, the answer is still Giannis Antetokounmpo, who received more than two-thirds of all votes.
The two-time MVPs relentless rim pressure and sheer number of dunks speak for themselves. But the on-ball explosion he wields remains terrifying.
What's more, over the years, Antetokounmpo's explosive catalog has expanded to include more functional athleticism. He isn't just attempting to outrun or blast through opponents. He has on-ball counters—spins, hesitations, step-backs, euros, etc.—that he deploys at variable speeds.
Who Is Most Likely To Be a 1st-Time All-Star In the Next 5 Years?
4 of 10
Winner: Ryan Rollins
Unless you have Myles Turner exploring new heights, in his 30s, after an unspectacular debut season in Milwaukee, Ryan Rollins' 77 percent first-place rating proves he's the only option here.
I suppose you could have been tongue-in-cheek and gone with "Whomever the Bucks draft in the first round this June." And I salute the 15 percent of voters who went with Ousmane Dieng.
Absent that, Darius Garland, Jamal Murray and Ty Jerome are the only players averaging as many points, assists and three-point attempts as Rollins while also shooting better than 40 percent on said triples.
Who Has the Best Contract?
5 of 10
Winner: Ryan Rollins
With 79 percent of the vote, Ryan Rollins just keeps winning.
Turning into an operable secondary lead on offense who hustles at the defensive end is a massive development and not something most had on their bingo card. It's an even sweeter deal when he's in the first season of a three, $12 million agreement.
Granted, the final leg of Rollins' contract is a player option he's going to decline. That's a looming pivot point for Milwaukee's future. It does nothing to undercut his place among the league's most absurd bargains now.
Who Has the Worst Contract?
6 of 10
Winner: Myles Turner
Myles Turner scooped up the largest margin of victory by securing 85 percent of the vote. The three years and $83.6 million, plus a 15 percent trade bonus, left on his contract doesn't look so hot on its own.
It gets even worse when you bake in Milwaukee saddling itself with $22.5 million of dead money through 2029-30 from waiving and stretching Damian Lillard just to sign the big man.
Who Is the Best Trash-Talker?
7 of 10
Winner: Bobby Portis Jr.
Bobby Portis Jr. is a self-admitted trash-talker. Netting 70 percent of the vote still seems kind of absurd, but I assume he received bonus points for managing to speak smack with his eyes.
Few stars are willing to engage in openly petty banter and/or rivalries. Giannis Antetokounmpo is among them. His 9 percent share of first-place votes seems low.
Second place at least stays in the family. Thanasis Antetokounmpo grabbed 17 percent of votes. He'd have gotten more, no doubt, if the overwhelming majority of his trash-talk didn't come from the bench.
Who Is Most Likely To Have a Burner Account?
8 of 10
Winner: Kyle Kuzma
Would it surprise you to learn Kyle Kuzma runs a lifestyle-brand account specializing in oversized crews? Most certainly not. That explains him winning, albeit with just 36 percent of votes.
There is a non-zero chance Giannis Antetokounmpo has both fueled and neutered speculation regarding his future using a secret online persona. Any account with an empty or fake avatar prone to making weird-uncle-type jokes is a suspect. That makes him a worth runner-up, with 33 percent of votes.
Myles Turner (9 percent) better have a burner he uses to sermonize the masses on how real adults play with LEGOs. I assume all "Kevin Porter Jr. is slept on 😤" style posts are from KPJ himself, who received 20 percent of votes.
Who Are You Taking With You Into the Zombie Apocalypse?
9 of 10
Winner: Bobby Portis Jr.
Bobby Portis Jr.'s crazy eyes are either hypnotic enough to lure zombies into a permanent slumber or terrifying enough to scare them into retreat. Do I agree with him getting 57 percent of the vote and taking home this undead-uprising honor? Not entirely. But it's not absurd, either.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was my pick. He put up a fight to play for a Bucks squad currently headed nowhere. There's no telling the level of resolve he'll show with the fate of humanity in the line. Receiving 30 percent of the vote is low.
Thansasis Antetokounmpo (11 percent) may be a walking meme or exemplar of nepotism. But just as he's the player most likely to get T'd up in street clothes, he's also someone with whom I'm willing to face the end of the world.
Who Is Most Likely To Be Playing Overseas In 2 Seasons?
10 of 10
Winner: Alex Antetokounmpo
On the one hand, branches off the Giannis Antetokounmpo family tree may be guaranteed roster or two-way spots so long as he's in the league. That buys Thanasis and Alex more than two years' time.
On the other hand, who's to say Giannis is in Milwaukee two years from now? If he's not, there's no guarantee his new team pays to host family reunions. And even if he stays put, the Bucks not giving Alex any run with the big club until basically April doesn't bode well for him.
.png?w=600 "Predicting Every 2nd-Round Series 🔮")