Giannis Antetokounmpo, Malcolm Brogdon named finalists for NBA awards

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Malcolm Brogdon surprised a lot of people with their play in helping the Milwaukee Bucks make the NBA playoffs this season.

It was no surprise to see their names, though, when the finalists for the NBA's biggest individual awards were unveiled Friday.

Antetokounmpo, who earned second team all-NBA honors Thursday — was named as one of three finalists for the NBA's most improved player award. Brogdon, the No. 36 pick in last year's draft, was tapped as a finalist for the league's rookie of the year award.

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The individual awards will be given out June 26 at the inaugural NBA Awards show on TNT.

Antetokounmpo led the Bucks in points, assists, rebounds, blocked shots and steals and ranked in the top 20 in the NBA in each of those categories — something that had never been done in league history. He earned Milwaukee's first all-star nod since 2004 en route to establishing himself as one of the league's rising stars.

More:Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo named to all-NBA second team

Joining Antetokounmpo as finalists for most improved player are Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who also was a second-team all-NBA pick, and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.

Gobert, a four-year pro who is also a finalist for defensive player of the year, added offensive firepower to his already strong defensive presence and finished with the second-best field-goal percentage in the NBA. Jokic followed up an all-rookie season in 2015-'16 with another stellar year, finishing eighth in player efficiency rating — two spots above Antetokounmpo and 10 ahead of Gobert.

In the rookie of the year race, Philadelphia's Dario Saric and Joel Embiid joined Brogdon as finalists. Brogdon, who could become the first second-round pick and the lowest-drafted player to win rookie of the year, averaged 10.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 40.4% from three-point range.

Embiid, who was drafted in 2014, took the NBA by storm after sitting out for two seasons due to injuries. His stellar play put him in the conversation to make the All-Star Game, but a meniscus tear in his left knee cut his season short in January after appearing in just 31 games. Saric, meanwhile, remained healthy and appeared in 81 games for the 76ers. He averaged 12.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

Milwaukee center Greg Monroe was not named a finalist for the league's sixth man of the year award. Those spots went to Houston's Lou Williams and Eric Gordon and Golden State's Andre Iguodala. 

Battle of the bigs: On Friday morning, the Bucks concluded a week of workouts with a six-player grouping of NBA hopefuls. The headliners were Ivan Rabb and Tyler Lydon, a pair of sophomore big men who have committed to making the leap to the NBA and are both projected as mid-to-late first-round picks.

Rabb, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound forward, averaged 13.2 points and 9.4 rebounds over two seasons at California. Last year, Rabb made the unexpected move of returning to college after a strong freshman season in which he shot 61.5% and played a prominent role on an NCAA Tournament team.

His reasoning was that he wanted to stay in school, get stronger and improve his skills.

"Great decision by him but a surprise to most NBA executives and scouts," Bucks vice president of scouting Billy McKinney said.

As Rabb did most of his work in college inside the three-point line — he made 9 of 22 three-point attempts over two seasons — Lydon made a living stretching the floor at Syracuse. The 6-9 1/2-inch, 215-pound forward made 98 of his 246 three-point attempts (39.8%) in two seasons.

Though their skills aren't identical — Rabb is more of an athletic, inside presence and rebounder while Lydon projects as more of a stretch four — the opportunity for the Bucks to see these two possible options go head-to-head Friday was a worthwhile measure of their talents. Both players could be available when Milwaukee makes the 17th overall pick in the June 22 draft.

"In the range of players that we've started to look at and think that might be available when we're there, it's always valuable for us to see these players play against one another," McKinney said. "It's always a challenge.

"I can't tell you how many times we've seen Ivan Rabb over the last two years. Even before he attended Cal we watched him at the LeBron James camp, Adidas Nations, everything. To be able to see him now, now that he's against Lydon — two really good athletes that figure to be first-round picks — is really good for us today."

When it comes to possibly playing for the Bucks, both Lydon and Rabb see a good fit. Lydon believes he can provide the combination of size, athleticism and shooting the Bucks covet, while Rabb sees a lot of growth potential as part of Milwaukee's up-and-coming, lengthy squad.

"I think they have a lot of long, athletic guys, similar to myself," Rabb said. "A lot of vets I can learn from. It seems like all their bigs play different but they all play with that same energy and tenacity and they play really good on defense.

"Any time you get in an atmosphere like that you have no choice but to compete and learn. That's what I'm looking for."

Another stands out: Rabb and Lydon were joined by Oregon's Dillon Brooks, St. Bonaventure's Jaylen Adams, Duke's Matt Jones and Notre Dame's V.J. Beachem for Friday's workout.

Brooks, a 6-6 forward who tested the NBA waters after his sophomore season last year before returning to Oregon, led the Ducks to the Final Four this past season. He averaged 16.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 48.8% overall and 40.1% from three-point range on the way to becoming the Pac-12 player of the year and a  second-team All-American.

On Friday, he made a positive impression on the Bucks staff.

"He is a really good player," McKinney said. "We were sitting there watching him work out today and definitely all of us said, 'He's going to be on a roster next year' because he brings a certain element, an edge, a toughness, a competitive level to the floor whenever he steps out there. He's very demanding of himself. ... Dillon Brooks is a lot of energy out there, a lot of intensity."

The energy Brooks showcased came in his third workout of the week after also participating in the NBA draft combine last week. Comparatively, Friday's workout was Rabb's first and Lydon's second.

"It's a grind and you're fighting for spots and trying to impress GMs and coaches," said Brooks, who is widely projected as a second-round pick. "It's my type of feel. I love competing and just playing."