Sports Illustrated NBA Commemorative (Bucks)

ABOUT FIVE months ago, it would have been tough to imagine the end result that played out at Fiserv Forum, with confetti and euphoria raining from the rafters, and Giannis Antetokounmpo hoisting trophies. Back in the middle of February, the Bucks had a streak in which they surrendered 110 points or more in six straight games, and it seemed like anyone could score on their once-dominant defense. Even worse, Milwaukee had dropped five games in a row, the club’s longest losing streak in four calendar years. The team’s record was a pedestrian 16–13, after back-to-back years in which the Bucks had the NBA’s most regular-season wins. Milwaukee certainly didn’t look like it was on its way to ending the club’s 50-year title drought. But no one panicked. If anything, the…

THE BUCKS entered this year’s playoffs with postseason shortcomings fresh in their memory. In both 2019 and ’20, Giannis Antetokounmpo won the MVP award and Milwaukee finished the regular season with the NBA’s best record, but each year the team’s run ended in the Eastern Conference semifinals. In ’19 the eventual champion Raptors took the Bucks out; last year in the Orlando bubble, the Heat eliminated them in five games. So an opening-round rematch with Miami this spring served as the perfect opportunity for Milwaukee to begin rewriting its postseason history. Game 1 at Fiserv Forum did not get off to an encouraging start. While the Bucks maintained a lead for most of the game, they never opened up much of a margin. The Heat, as they had last year,…

PERHAPS THE Bucks’ season wouldn’t have ended with the Larry O’Brien Trophy had Kevin Durant worn anything smaller than a size-18 sneaker in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. A back-and-forth, injury-riddled series became a game of inches when a toe on the arc cost KD the one point that would have made all the difference. While both teams in the series could be said to have a Big Three, they were really a study in contrasts. Brooklyn was a big-market team with a thrown-together trio of superstars in Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden and an indifferent approach to defense. Milwaukee was a small-market team with a homegrown star, a patiently assembled roster and a gritty approach to the game. The series began with the Bucks’ hitting only…

IT SURE FELT as if the injury bug were playing a game of tag during this postseason, knocking out one NBA starter after another. The Bucks’ turn came in Game 4 of their series against the Hawks, when Giannis Antetokounmpo leaped to defend a lob to center Clint Capela. Giannis’s left knee bent backward as he landed, and he grimaced while lying on his side for more than a minute. “When it happened,” Antetokounmpo later said, “I thought I would be out for a year.” Left unspoken was the damage that would then be done to Milwaukee’s playoff fortunes. Giannis was pleasantly surprised when he was diagnosed with a mere hyperextension after the game, and an exam the next day confirmed that he had suffered no major structural damage. While…

GAME 1 TOP IF you’ve heard this one before: The Bucks lost a playoff series opener, and their coaching staff faced criticism for its defensive schemes. In what’s become practically a recurring segment during Milwaukee’s last few postseason runs, the question was once again being asked: Is Mike Budenholzer defending pick-and-rolls properly? In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, a 118–105 loss to the Suns, coach Bud tried several strategies. He started big with Brook Lopez at center and switched everything. In the second half, he had Lopez dropping under screens. And in the fourth quarter, he went back to switching, except this time with Giannis Antetokounmpo at center. No matter what Milwaukee tried against Phoenix it didn’t work, and one player in particular was responsible for dismantling the coverages:…

5 Teams, including the Bucks, to overcome an 0–2 deficit and win the NBA Finals. 0 Players for both the Bucks and Suns who had won an NBA title entering the Finals, the first time neither Finals team had a previous champion since 1977. 120.1 Points per game for the Bucks in the regular season, the most for any team since the 1984–85 Nuggets. 18 Double doubles turned in by Giannis Antetokounmpo during the postseason, which led all players. 1 Teams to win an NBA title despite dropping Game 1 of each of their final three playoff series, after the Bucks did it this year. 7 Players who have had back-to-back 40-point games in the Finals, including Giannis in Games 2 and 3. 162 Regular-season wins for the Bucks over…