THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS WIN THE 2021 NBA TITLE

 

RAISING THE “ANTE”:

THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS WIN THE 2021 NBA TITLE

 

By Eric Plaut

 

Everybody seems to enjoy an underdog story, especially in the sports world.  It feels as if a movie—such as film biopic or a fictional account—comes off the big screen and into our lives in full Technicolor.  Such films would include Rocky, Rudy and Hoosiers.

Yet something about a team’s decades-long drought makes their victory that much sweeter.  Whether you love or hate a particular team, something seems to tug at our heart-strings when they finally win it all.  With baseball, for instance, we tend to think of teams such as the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs. After 86 years of living under 1918’s “Curse of the Bambino (Babe Ruth)”, the Bo-Sox won four World Series pennants between 2004 and 2018.  Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs earned a World Series ring in 2016 after a 108-year absence!

And on the basketball court, we have the Milwaukee Bucks!  In their third year, the Bucks defeated the Baltimore Bullets (now the Washington Wizards) in seven games to win the 1971 National Basketball Association (NBA) title.  Their interim coach Larry Costello served the Bucks from 1968 until his resignation in 1976.  The Bucks lost to the Boston Celtics in the 1974 Finals, also in seven games.  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (previously known as Lewis Alcindor), Oscar Robertson, Bob Dandridge and Jon McGlocklin played on both the then-Western championship teams.  All four players had their numbers retired by the Bucks.

Fortunately, we still hear good news about former Bucks players from that era.  We know about Kareem’s friendship with his college coach—John Wooden from the University of California—Los Angeles (UCLA).  Coach Wooden was known for winning ten titles for the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team.  Just as important, his “Pyramid of Success” showed the importance of life on and off the court.  In their later years, Kareem reciprocated what his mentor taught him.  One photo during his later years shows Kareem helpingCoach Wooden onto the basketball court.

Oscar Robertson was another Bucks player during Costello’s tenure.  Though quiet in nature, the Big O once donated a kidney for his middle daughter Tia.  Both Oscar and his wife Yvonne were surprised by all the media coverage the operation received.  “What father wouldn’t (help his child)?”  Oscar modestly asked a reporter from Sports Illustrated once.  Tia now serves as Executive Vice President for her dad’s company OR (Oscar Robertson) Solutions.

Now 50 years after the Bucks won their first NBA title, the green and white confetti fell down at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.  The 2020-21 Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in six games.  Yet for the Bucks, it had been an uphill battle these past five years.  They lost in the first round to the Toronto Raptors (2017) and the Boston Celtics (2018).The Bucks then lost in six games in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals to the eventual champion Raptors.  Then in five games, the team lost to the Miami Heat in 2020 during the second round.

However, these setbacks neverdeterred or discouraged the Bucks.  Their upswing began in 2013 when the team acquired a then-18-year-old player from Athens, Greece: Giannis Antetokounmpo.Due to his heritage and skills on the court, he was soon dubbed the “Greek Freak”.Previously playing for the senior team Filathlitikos B.C. in Athens,Giannis was selected 15^th overall in the 2013 first round of the NBA Draft. 

Milwaukee would soon realize their ROI (return on investment) as Giannis rose from the basketball Acropolis to the leader of the Bucks’ team.  His older brother Thanasis, who also played for Filathlitikos, was selected by the New York Knicks in 2014.  Besides their oldest brother Francis (a soccer player), they have two younger brothers.  Kostas, who played college ball for the 2017-18 University of Dayton (Ohio) Flyers, was drafted in 2019 by the Los Angeles Lakers with whom he won an NBA championship in 2020.  The youngest brother Alex, eligible for the 2021 NBA Draft, was currently undrafted as of this writing.  However, hejoined the NBA Summer League with the Sacramento Kings, who won the 2021 Summer League title!  Alex played for the UCAM Murcia during the 2020-21 season in Spain.  He currently plays for the Raptors 905 from the NBA G League in Mississauga,Ontario, Canada, which are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. 

Giannis and ThanasisAntetokounmpo have played on the Bucks since the 2019-2020 season.  But the team showed some additional brotherly love and moral support when twin brothers Brook and Robin Lopez played for Milwaukee during the 2019-2020 season.  Brook joined the Bucks in 2018 after a brief stopover with the Lakers.  Before that, he enjoyed playing nine years and setting records for the New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets.  A year later after playing for the Wizards, Robin was traded to the Orlando Magic during the 2020-21 season.

Bobby Portis, Donte DiVincenzo, Bryn Forbes and D.J. Augustin stepped up onto the court as well.  ThenJrue Holiday and Khris Middleton stamped their tickets as members of the men’s basketball team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics where they each won a gold medal.  Holiday also received this year’s NBA Sportsmanship Award, becoming the first player on the Bucks to do so.

Mike Budenholzer served as the Bucks’ coach since 2018.  “Coach Bud”, who previously spent five seasons coaching the Atlanta Hawks, will begin his fourth year this fall as Milwaukee’s leader.  As with Larry Costello, Bud would realize that while his third year was also a charm, the 2021 NBA playoffs would be a tough feat to accomplish.  But it would soon pay off for the team.

The 2021 playoffs were sometimes a struggle for the Milwaukee Bucks.  However, the team prevailed through all four rounds, sticking together through a total 16 wins, seven losses and occasional injuries.  The Bucks blazed through the Miami Heat in the first round, winning all four games.  Then in the semi-finals, it took all seven games for the Bucks to defeat the Brooklyn Nets.  Milwaukee then netted the Eastern Conference Finals win where they beat the Hawks four games out of six. 

Though the Bucks lost the first two games to the Suns in this year’s NBA Finals, the Milwaukee fans’ war-cry of “Bucks in Six” helped the Green Deer obtain their first title in 50 years!  Giannis Antetokounmpo earned the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.  Giannis capped it off in Game 6 with 50 points and five blocks.  He deserved to raise that trophy, but it was great to watch the proud papa hoisting up his 18-month-old son Liam Charles into the air, too.

Congratulations to the Milwaukee Bucks for winning their second NBA title.  Just remember to “Fear the Deer” yet keep out of the oncoming headlights.  And keep on raising the “Ante”!