Long before their titanic run in 2021, the Milwaukee Bucks have been a threat in the NBA. For five consecutive seasons now, the men in green and white have secured playoff berths. It is no coincidence that ever since the Greek freak Giannis Antetokounmpo has begun averaging over 20 points per season, the Bucks have made the knockouts.
Recently, the 27-year-old opened up about the team’s run in 2018.
After a long stretch of impressive outings that didn’t evolve into anything extraordinary, Milwaukee finally proved their mettle last year. Spearheaded by the deadly trio of Giannis, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday, the roster performed exceedingly well.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
However, the systematic brilliance of the squad wasn’t developed overnight. Only after working for years on end, did their players learn how to build a rapport with one another. And it all started with the sparks of 2018.
Giannis Antetokounmpo evaluates the 2018 loss vs Celtics
The 2017-18 season was widely remembered for the dominance of Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. However, the Bucks impressed one and all with their 1st Round showing. After finishing the regular season with a 44-38 record, everyone assumed that they would be blown away by the Boston Celtics.
On the contrary, Giannis, and co. showed fight, valor, and determination, before eventually bowing out 3-4 in the series. All this, after firing head coach Jason Kidd, and working under an interim manager. It was a clear sign of things to come.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Later in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers were also taken to a decider by Boston but emerged on the right side of the victory sheet. This, however, as he laid out recently, provided signals of optimism to Giannis. “The people that went to the NBA Finals were LeBron James, the Cavs, they went to Game 7 [with Boston]. So I’m like, ‘We got something here.’ … And I’m sitting in Fresno thinking, ‘LeBron went to seven with them. We went to seven with them. We got something cooking here.”
All those years of patience and self-evaluation certainly paid off for the 5-time All-star. After all, the fruit of his efforts reached his hands, when the golden NBA trophy was hoisted high and mightily by the Milwaukee Bucks!
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
WATCH THIS STORY: 3 Unknown Stories From LeBron James’ Life