Giannis Antetokounmpo - Defensive Dynamo 16/17 HD

Giannis Antetokounmpo became the first player in NBA history to finish in the top 20 in total points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. In leading his team in each major statistical category, he joined the likes of Dave Cowens, Scottie Pippen, Kevin Garnett, and LeBron James (since the league began recording blocks and steals in the 1973-74 season, that is) as the only players to have ever done so. He had a career year, and with the SOLE exception of his 3 point percentage, he had career best numbers across the board. At any given time, he can be found playing or defending any position on the floor, and that versatility has buoyed not only his Most Improved Player campaign, but also shows the league flashes of a future Most Valuable Player. Giannis has pretty much shown the world that, at least in these playoffs, he’s one of the top 5 players in the East. Obviously, defensive statistics aren’t always telling of a player’s true value, but given that you just have to watch a game to know that he passes the eye test, I’ll present the stats anyway: Giannis is 4th in the league in Defensive Box Plus/Minus, behind guys like Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert, he’s ranked higher in defensive win shares than 2 former Defensive Players of the Year (Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol), and his block percentage is just beneath rugged rim protectors like Gobert, Anthony Davis, and Hassan Whiteside. He finished with more total blocks than Draymond, DeAndre Jordan, Kristaps Porzingis, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Again, these are pretty impressive numbers on their own, but he lines up at times as the Milwaukee Bucks’ practically 7 foot point guard. Add to that the fact that he’s only 22 years old, and that makes for a frighteningly ferocious future for the Greek Freak.