Giannis Antetokounmpo

Bucks' Antetokounmpo a favorite among NBA GMs

Published Oct. 4, 2017 1:15 p.m. ET

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Safe to say, everyone now knows about Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Perhaps a hidden gem in Milwaukee in his first three seasons with the Bucks, Antetokounmpo broke out in 2016-17, averaging 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.6 steals and was eventually named the NBA's Most Improved Player.

And he'll only turn 23 in December.



No wonder if teams were starting a franchise, Antetokounmpo would be a favorite player in which to begin. That's according to this year's NBA general manager survey, where "The Greek Freak" is mentioned often.

In the above-mentioned question -- If you were starting a franchise today and could sign any player in the NBA, who would it be? -- Antetokounmpo garnered 21 percent of the vote, behind only Minnesota big man Karl-Anthony Towns (29 percent), who is a year younger than the Bucks forward, but ahead of such well-known stars as Cleveland's LeBron James, Golden State's Kevin Durant and San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard.

For the second consecutive year, GMs think Antetokounmpo is the game's best international player. While last season he garnered just 28 percent of the vote in leading the way, Antetokounmpo was named on an overwhelming 69 percent of the ballots in this year's survey, well ahead of Denver's Nikola Jokic (14 percent), Memphis' Marc Gasol (10 percent) and the unicorn himself, New York's Kristaps Porzingis (7 percent).

It's hard to imagine someone more athletic than Antetokounmpo, but the NBA general managers polled put James, Durant and Leonard above him, with Giannis getting 10 percent of the vote.

Antetokounmpo also received votes for best power forward in the NBA.

Among other categories, Greg Monroe received votes for most impact off the bench while Jason Terry was among those thought of to be the active player who might become the best head coach.

The Bucks were slotted fifth among Eastern Conference teams. Last year, they didn't get any votes in the ranking of top-four teams. This year, three percent think the Bucks will finish third and 19 percent fourth. Cleveland, Boston, Washington and Toronto make up the top four.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee Bucks