Absolutely unreal that 6 years after the Bucks threw a Hail Mary on draft night 2013, that the kid that literally looked like a newborn baby deer, is now the MVP of the league.
I mean really think about that 2013 draft. It's not a stretch at all to say that the franchise was saved that night. The Bucks were coming off of another, 'Bucks Special,' of a season where they traded a young player with upside (Tobias Harris) for a 3 months of JJ Redick, just so they could go 38-44, clinch the 8 seed, and promptly be erased in the first round by the Lebron led Miami heat. Herb Kohl was still the owner, the Bradley Center was a pit, and there wasn't a lot of optimism about a new arena or the long term health of the franchise staying in Milwaukee.
But that night it all changed when the Bucks gambled on Giannis with the 15th pick. After the initial panic of seeing his last name and trying to figure out how I was going to say it on the air the next day wore off, I remember thinking, 'good.' At least we took a chance. Instead of making a safe pick of a proven college player that would likely turn into a decent role player in the NBA, the franchise finally went high risk, high reward.
Now I'd be lying if I said I wasn't skeptical of an 18 year old kid that was playing in the SECOND tier of the Greek professional league. It's not like the first tier of that league is well regarded, so a kid averaging 8 points per game in the second tier didn't inspire a ton of confidence. But you could immediately see that his length and physical gifts MIGHT translate into something. And have they ever. He literally looks like a different person 6 years later. Bigger, stronger, more aggressive. He slowly transformed into a more athletic version of Shaq over the past 6 years. It's rare that a risky pick like that actually pays off, and that player turns into a once-in-a-lifetime talent, but that's where we're living right now. And if that wouldn't have happened, it's possible, hell, even probable, that the Bucks aren't in Milwaukee in 2019.
And the other thing we love about Giannis, other than the fact that he saved the franchise, are the things he detailed in his speech. Humble, hard working, deferential when it comes to praise. Not only is he supremely talented, he's not really a 'LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!' guy. He's got the competitive spirit of Jordan and Kobe, and the humbleness of Tim Duncan. Live look at Bucks fans today:
PS: They were rare, but you KNEW that there were going to be comments/takes about how the Bucks stalled out in the playoffs, and how could Giannis be the MVP if the Bucks didn't make the Finals. I'll concede, if this award were regular and postseason combined, the winner should clearly be Kawhi. But it's not. The MVP is a regular season award, and I'm almost positive that it's even voted on before the postseason begins. Related: If your first thought when you saw Giannis win the MVP was, 'well, they didn't win the title so how is he the MVP?!' then as the great Peter McNeeley once said, you've got a big dump in your pants:
Double PS: Given my age (35), I have lived a PRIVILEGED life as a football fan in this state. For the most part, I've known nothing but Hall of Fame quarterbacks, division titles, Super Bowl runs, Rose Bowls, etc. I never had to suffer through the 70's and 80's Packer teams that depressed the entire state every Fall. Conversely, I have paid the toll when it comes to the Brewers and Bucks. Both were very good in the 70's/80's, both were mostly horrible when I was growing up. 13 year old Jonathan would never believe me if I went back in time and told him that in 2018-19, the Brewers and Bucks would both have the MVP's of their respective leagues. He would have laughed his JNCO jeans right off. Thrown his Tamagotchi right into Lake Michigan.
Triple PS: Shout out to Budenholzer winning Coach of the Year and Jon Horst winning Executive of the Year last night as well. The latter of which I would have NEVER guessed when he was hired. Remember how that all played out? Basically Wed Edens and Marc Lasry disagreed on who they wanted to hire as the new GM, got angry, looked around the room and said, 'Fine! Then that guy is going to be the GM!' Honestly that story doesn't sound like that much of an exaggeration. Well it has worked out brilliantly so far. Clearly he has his work cut out for him this offseason, but when he was hired I never thought I'd see him at the NBA Awards holding a trophy unless it was his job to hand them to the winners.
