After a 50 year dry spell, the Milwaukee Bucks have finally clinched the top prize, and have been named the 2020-21 NBA Champions, as per NBA.com. Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is also known as the Greek Freak, the Bucks won over the Phoenix Suns with a decisive 105-98 score in Game 6 of the NBA finals.
Three weeks ago, Antetokounmpo was in danger of being sidelined during one of the most crucial playoff runs in his career. Well, it looked like fighting through the pain paid off as he won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award alongside his first ever NBA ring. With his contribution of 50 points during the game, he surely deserved the title.
With this accolade, he has made history, becoming the third player in NBA history to win a regular season MVP Award, a Finals MVP Award and a Defensive Player of the Year Award. Who are the other elite players on the list? Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.
“I want to thank Milwaukee for believing in me, thank my teammates,” he said upon winning the award. “They played hard every freaking game. I trusted this team. I wanted to do it here in this city, I wanted to do it with these guys, so I’m happy. I’m happy that we were able to get it done.”
His teammates, Khris Middleton chipped in 17 points and Bobby Portis had 16. Meanwhile, Phoenix’s Chris Paul led the Suns with 26 points.
The last time the Bucks won the coveted top plum of the NBA was in 1971, with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and Oscar Robertson leading the way. After this amazing feat, it looks like some Bucks players won’t get to rest just yet. Middleton and Jrue Holiday of the Bucks are flying to Tokyo to join Team USA in the upcoming Olympics. Well, they can still celebrate a bit before national basketball duty, right?
