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Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon won NBA Rookie of the Year, and Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon won the Sixth Man of the Year Award on Monday night at the first-ever NBA awards show in New York. Brogdon beat out two Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric.
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Brogdon made history by becoming the first player not picked in the first round since the common draft era began in 1966 to win the award. He also became the first Buck to win the award since Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1969-70 season.
Gordon beat out teammate Lou Williams and Golden State's Andre Iguodala.
The Bucks used the 36th overall pick to select Brogdon in the 2016 draft and he helped Milwaukee reach the postseason by averaging 10.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 75 games (28 starts).
Brogdon also shot 40.4 percent from 3-point range and shot 86.5 percent from the foul line. His assists (4.2) and steals (1.1) per game were tops among rookies, while his 3-point and free-throw percentages ranked second.
"Malcolm worked tirelessly to improve his game and became a valuable contributor," said Bucks coach Jason Kidd, who won co-Rookie of the Year honors with Grant Hill in 1995. "In fact, he was so reliable it was easy to forget that he was a rookie. Malcolm has a boundless future and we want to congratulate him on winning this well-earned award."
Brogdon said in a statement released by the team. "I am both humbled and honored to win this award. As the oldest rookie to win this award in decades, I know it is the culmination of many special people who believed in me, starting with my mother, and continuing with my owners, my teammates, Coach Kidd and the entire Bucks' staff.
"My five years at Virginia truly prepared me for the NBA and for life after the NBA. Thanks to Coach Bennett for a great education in basketball and for making me better. Thanks to the great fans of Milwaukee. Their work ethic truly inspires me every night."
Gordon signed with the Rockets and only came off the bench 19 times in his first eight seasons. He was a reserve in 60 of the 75 games he played in and averaged 17.6 points and his 206 3-pointers off the bench were 27 more than the previous record.
The Rockets were 35-7 when Gordon scored at least 15 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo won the Most Improved Player of the Year award after becoming the first player to finish in the top 20 in all five major categories (points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals).
In his fourth season, Antetokounmpo improved his scoring average from 16.9 points to 22.9 and his rebounding average from 7.7 to 8.8. He also improved his assists average to 5.4, his steals to 1.6 and blocks to 1.9.
The 22-year-old from Greece also made those improvements while playing point guard and about the same amount of minutes per game.
Antetokounmpo beat out Denver's Nikola Jokic and Utah's Rudy Gobert while becoming the first Buck to win the award.
Golden State Warriors president of basketball operations/general manager Bob Myers was named NBA Executive of the year for the second time in three seasons. He is the 11th executive to win the award multiple times.
Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni was named Coach of the Year, giving the team their first recipient since Don Chaney in 1991.
D'Antoni beat out San Antonio's Gregg Popovich and Miami's Erik Spoelstra to win the award for the second time. He also won it in 2004-05 while coaching the Phoenix Suns.
In his first season with the Rockets, D'Antoni guided the team to 55 wins, marking a 14-game improvement.
Golden State forward Draymond Green won the Defensive Player of the Year after heading the All-Defensive First team.
Green finished as the runner-up in the last two seasons, but this time he beat out San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard and Utah's Rudy Gobert to become the first Warrior to win the award.
Green became the first player to average at least 10 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and one block since blocks and steals were first recorded in the 1973-74 season.
He was the first Warrior to total at least 150 steals and 100 blocks in the same season. He also became the first NBA player to record a triple-double without scoring in double figures when he totaled 11 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals Feb. 10 at Memphis.
