Bucks Zone

Here's why Malcolm Brogdon asked the Milwaukee Bucks to stop their Rookie of the Year campaign for him

Malcolm Brogdon was not called "The President" for nothing.

Matthew Dugandzic

© Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
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When an NBA team has a legitimate candidate for a prestigious individual award like the Most Valuable Player or Rookie of the Year, their marketing department usually goes all out to promote their player for the award. However, Malcolm Brogdon had a different idea amid his ROTY campaign with the Milwaukee Bucks back in 2017.

Rather than spending a ton of money on his promotion, the University of Virginia star requested that the money allocated for his campaign be donated to charity.

Focused on team goals, not individual awards

As much as he appreciated the Bucks' push for him to win the award, Brogdon said he's more focused on winning basketball games and helping his team get to where they want to go. The Bucks eventually made the NBA Playoffs but lost to the Toronto Raptors in the first round.

"Honestly, for me, I don't care in the least," Brogdon said. "I'm not big into the accolades. I love that people support me. I love that people really want me to win and are rooting for me, and I really appreciate that."

"But at the end of the day, I don't play to win awards. I play to win games; I play to be the best and beat the best. If you pay too much mind to these accolades and these awards, they serve as distractions, so I just try to keep that out of my head," Brogdon added.

Not hungry for the spotlight

Very few people paid attention to Brogdon when the Bucks selected him with the 36th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft. After all, his draft class had the likes of Ben Simmons, Jaylen Brown, and Brandon Ingram. 

Brogdon's main adversary in the Rookie of the Year was Joel Embiid, who had his rookie season in 2016 after missing his first two years with numerous injuries. In the end, the Bucks' point guard was named Rookie of the Year with averages of 10.2 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

"I'm a guy that likes to keep the attention off of me, keep things quiet," Brogdon said. "I think the Bucks organization - they understand my personality, and I thought it would be something nice to do. Other people can benefit from that money."

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.