NBA: Giannis Antetokounmpo On Pace For History With Potential DPOY Win

While the NBA season is on hold, the predictions for the end of the year awards still remain active. In the league’s current narrative, Giannis Antetokounmpo is a leading candidate to win this year’s best defender of the NBA.

There are several aspects of the criteria for judging a great defensive player. Whether it’s in the statistical output or in the overall impact a player gives to the team, Antetokounmpo has proven to stand out in these categories.

The Milwaukee Bucks are now first in the league with 53 wins and 12 losses. The stellar performance of the Bucks can be attributed to the defensive capabilities that Antetokounmpo has displayed. In players who have tallied more than 500 minutes in this season, Giannis has led the league in these major defensive metrics. This edges out several defensive specialists such as Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis.

These are all seen in Forbes' list of the league's best defensive players. The list is based on ESPN’s defensive real plus-minus, Basketball Index’s defensive player impact plus-minus, FiveThirtyEight’s defensive RAPTOR and Basketball Reference’s defensive box plus/minus.

It is also interesting to note that second in the list by Forbes is fellow teammate Brook Lopez. The versatile big man has been a force inside the paint with Giannis as the Bucks continue to dominate the season.

There is no question that it has been a strong year for the Greek Freak as he is also in the leading discussion for the MVP award. The six-foot-eleven superstar is the reigning most valuable player and is on pace to win back to back. This puts him in the window to be in the same historic statistic as Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan to win the MVP and DPOY in the same year.

The Bucks are the only 50-win team in the NBA and have been consistent all throughout the season. This year includes a new look for Milwaukee based squad with key players such as Malcolm Brogdon being traded to the Indiana Pacers. Despite these changes, the team is able to adjust and continue their chase for the best team in the league.

The Bucks lost in the hands of Kawhi Leonard in last year's Eastern Conference Finals. With Giannis at the peak of his offensive and defensive game, Milwaukee is determined more than ever in bouncing back and wreak havoc in this year’s playoffs.