Sidney Moncrief won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards with the Bucks.
The Milwaukee Bucks have had a player win the Defensive Player of the Year award three times during their franchise history. Two of the three awards were won by the same player.
Let’s highlight the accomplishments that helped them earn the honors.
Sidney Moncrief – 2 Times (1983, 1984)
The Bucks selected Moncrief with the fifth pick in the 1979 Draft. He had a breakout campaign in 1981-82, averaging 19.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.7 steals in 37 minutes per game. He made his first All-Star team that season, made All-Defensive Second Team and finished seventh in MVP voting.
Moncrief continued to accumulate accolades the following season, averaging 22.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.5 steals in 1982-83. He made the All-Star team, was named All-NBA First Team, won the Defensive Player of the Year award and finished fourth in MVP voting.
Moncrief took home back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1984. That season, he averaged 20.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.4 steals. While Moncrief did not win the award in 1984-85, he came in second in the voting. He also finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 1985-86.
Moncrief played 10 years with the Bucks before retiring. He came out of retirement and played one season with the Hawks before retiring again. Across 695 career regular season games with the Bucks, Moncrief averaged 16.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals. Although he did not win a championship with the Bucks, he made the playoffs with the team 10 times.
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 2020
The Bucks selected Antetokounmpo with the 15th pick in the 2013 Draft. It took him a few seasons to establish himself, but he won the Most Improved Player award in 2016-17. He averaged 1.6 steals and 1.9 blocks per game that season, which helped him earn All-Defensive Second Team honors.
Antetokounmpo won his first regular season MVP award in 2018-19, averaging 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. He made All-Defensive First Team that season and came in second for Defensive Player of the Year.
Antetokounmpo also won the regular season MVP award in 2019-20, averaging 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. In addition to being named MVP, he won the Defensive Player of the Year award for the first time in his career.
Still a current member of the Bucks, Antetokounmpo has made nine All-Star teams and been named All-Defensive First Team four times. In addition to winning the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year award, he has finished inside the top six in voting for the award four other times during his career. He also has eight seasons in which he has averaged at least 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
