© Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the 2022-23 NBA Fan Favorites Block of the Year winner
Giannis Antetokounmpo's well-timed block on LeBron James has been voted as the 2022-23 NBA Fan Favorites Block of the Year.
The stellar defensive stop took place in the December 2nd meeting of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers at the Fiserv Forum. The block came at the seven-minute mark of the closely fought contest.
Emphatic block
Before the block, Antetokounmpo lost the ball while trying to do a crossover. James picked up the loose and hurriedly raced to the other court.
James then took off for a left-handed layup, but Giannis met him above the rim and emphatically swatted the ball, much to the delight of the crowd.
The Lakers still went on to win the game, 133-129. That game marked the return of Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham to Milwaukee. Ham was an assistant coach for the Bucks from 2018-2022.
The Greek Freak finished that game with 40 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and that athletic defensive play on James.
Certified defensive stopper
Pulling off defensive stops is not something new for Giannis. The bull-strong Milwaukee forward has earned a reputation as one of the league's elite scorers but also one of the top defenders.
Antetokounmpo won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020 and is a four-time NBA All-Defensive First Team member. He is also a two-time member of the All-Defensive Team Second Team.
Interestingly, Giannis was not included in the all-defense teams this season.
Antetokounmpo, however, was voted as one of the league's top defenders this season.
In fact, he actually got more total votes (44) and points (60) than the Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo, who earned 40 total votes and 53 points.
However, Antetokounmpo's votes came at forward, while Adebayo's came at center, paving the way for the Heat big man to get the center spot for the All-Defensive Second team.
