The 2020-21 NBA season has concluded after the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals.
Both in their 53rd NBA seasons, the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks are storied franchises but only shared one championship between them. Milwaukee won in 1971, led by the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabaar. It had been quite the drought since, but seeing the two in the NBA Finals was refreshing, with only Jae Crowder of the Suns having played in a championship before (Miami 2020).
In Chris Paul’s 16 seasons, this was his first Finals appearance. The future Hall of Famer started the series strong but faded as it continued, making uncharacteristic turnovers and disappearing into the background at times. Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton had incredibly impressive playoff runs for their first time out. Both young stars had games and moments of basketball brilliance but unfortunately showed their inexperience as the Finals wound down.
Credit must be given in part, of course, the defense of Milwaukee and the relentlessness of its brightest star.
Milwaukee had been one of the best defensive teams in the NBA for several seasons but started slow this year. The addition of Jrue Holiday and the defensive transformation of Brook Lopez took longer than expected to gel. All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton are established two-way guys, with Giannis being last season’s Defensive Player of the Year. Suddenly, right in time for the playoffs, things started clicking.
The Bucks had the benefit of facing some injury-plagued teams, but that is often the way the cookie crumbles in the playoffs of any sport. Fingers may be pointed at the expedited season, but whatever happened to other teams, Milwaukee did their best to make sure it did not happen to them, luck or not.
As for those opponents: Miami had essentially the same roster that led them to the Finals in the bubble last season. Brooklyn had injuries to their stars but still had Kevin Durant raining fire and brimstone. Atlanta was a bit of a Cinderella story but was coming in young, hot, and with plenty to prove. Milwaukee defeated them all.
Phoenix benefitted from injured opponents as well. Lakers with no Anthony Davis, Nuggets with Jamaal Murray, and Clippers with no Kawhi Leonard. That still left LeBron James, (MVP) Nikola Jokic, and Paul George. Phoenix was rolling.
The Suns took the first two games at home, which meant do-or-die for the Bucks in Milwaukee. A 3-0 or a 3-1 deficit could have spelled the end for the Bucks, but they took care of business, evening the series 2-2.
Back to Phoenix — the home team had taken each game so far, but behind another herculean effort by Antetokounmpo and a brilliant two-way performance by Holiday, Milwaukee gained the edge.
For Game 6 in Milwaukee, we had the NBA’s best road team facing the NBA’s best home team. The game could have gone either way if only Giannis Antetokounmpo hadn’t laid it all on the court and prevented his team from losing. Phoenix never gave up, but the Greek Freak made sure that did not matter.
Antetokounmpo finished off the Suns with a 50 point, 14 rebound, five-block performance, which was one for the ages. His ever infectious enthusiasm spilled over afterward and continues to do so today. A family man and ferocious competitor, Giannis wore his heart on his sleeve throughout and gained even more respect than he already had from his two regular-season MVPs.
Devin Booker now has an awkward plane to catch with Middleton and Holiday as the trio heads to Tokyo to represent Team USA. Unfortunately, that is the only basketball we will get for a while, but keep an eye out for the NBA Draft Thursday, July 29th as well.
As for next year… will Giannis Antetokounmpo’s reign continue? Will the superstars in Brooklyn remain healthy and gel? How much does LeBron James have left in the tank? Will the return of Klay Thompson mean the return of the Warriors?
There are many questions, but that is why we stay tuned. Keep checking back with The Basketball Movement as we track the NBA, NCAA, FIBA, high school, and about any other hoops you can imagine.