The Milwaukee Bucks were definitely going to have some players on the NBA All-Defensive Team. After being snubbed for many of the regular season awards, the team with the best defense was likely to have multiple players be honored. Two Bucks, Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez, made the 1st team while Giannis Antetokounmpo was snubbed.
The 2022-23 Kia NBA All-Defensive First Team:
▪️ Alex Caruso, Chicago Bulls
▪️ Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks
▪️ Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies
▪️ Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks
▪️ Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers pic.twitter.com/Qc5eTBeBkx— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 9, 2023
Milwaukee Bucks On The NBA All-Defensive Team
Lopez shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. He was a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year award so he was almost a lock for the award. Holiday also is considered to be one of the best defensive guards in the league and received 94 first-place votes which was second only to Jaren Jackson Jr. who won the Defensive Player of the Year. The biggest snub was Giannis Antetokounmpo who didn’t make either the first or second team.
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A Huge Snub
Giannis was 11th in voting which means he just missed out. What is shocking is that he received more first-place votes than OG Anunoby, Dillon Brooks, and Bam Adebayo, all members of the second team. He even received more second-place votes than Adebayo but because of the positional structure of the honor, he didn’t make it. According to Statmuse, he led the league in defensive rating and was a huge part of the defense that was tops in the league. It is an absolute travesty that he was left off both of the teams.
It was great to see both Holiday and Lopez get their flowers with the NBA All-Defensive team nods. The good news for Bucks fans is this may give Giannis an even bigger chip on his shoulder for next year when the team looks to recapture the NBA championship.
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