By Jack Gilroy || Staff Writer
Well the curtains have closed on the 2021 NBA season, and wow was it a whirlwind. From managing COVID protocols and lots of unfortunate injuries to facing the regular grind of an NBA season, this season was one for the history books.
It is always nice to see new teams in the finals and what two better teams have played this year than the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks. It sure is something seeing fresh faces and not Lebron vs. Curry for the 100th time in the finals. In fact, the only player in this year’s finals who had any type of experience was Jae Crowder who played in the 2020 finals with the Heat. So, there were a ton of young stars who got their first taste of finals basketball this year. It came down to game 6 in Milwaukee, where the Bucks defeated the Suns to win the series and bring the trophy back to Milwaukee for the first time in 50 years. So, congratulations to the Bucks, your 2021 NBA champs.
Here is a little recap of the series in case you missed it. It began with a fiery start for the Suns. With home court advantage, they took a quick 2-0 lead on the series, inevitably getting every Suns fan and believer to throw their 4s up for the infamous “Sun’s in 4” line.
Remember this guy? The guy who beat some Nuggets fans’ butts and then threw the four in their face as the Suns went to sweep the Nuggets and advance to the next round. Well as good as a viral video that was, it came back to haunt Phoenix as well.
I am saying this because after going up 2-0 in the series, the Suns imploded. They were beaten four games in a row by the eventual champions, the Bucks, which on the internet gave a whole new meaning to “Suns in 4”. I cannot lie it was hard to watch Chris Paul and Devin Booker struggle the rest of the series after playing with teams all playoffs. But Giannis came too and started playing like a prime Shaq, going through everyone on his way to historic performances which eventually earned him the Finals MVP nod.
The moment I knew the Bucks probably had this series was when Giannis had that block on the 7- footer Deandre Ayton, which probably goes down as one of, if not the most crazy, improbable blocks we have ever seen in finals history.
Craziness. No other words. He truly lives up to his nickname, the Greek Freak, after this block.
In case you didn’t think that was enough, Giannis went for 50 points, yes 50 points, in the elimination game 6, bringing a championship back home to Milwaukee. In classic Batman / Robin fashion we saw Khris Middleton put the nails in the Sun’s coffin by hitting a dagger jumper to ice the game with just under a minute left. It was a great great series. You have to be happy for Giannis and the Bucks as he is one of the more humble and likeable stars in the NBA today. On the other hand, as a basketball fan it hurts to see CP3 get so close and still come up short in his quest for his first championship.
One thing I think everyone should agree on is that this was an incredible playoffs and was so entertaining to watch. It is years like this that make you appreciate the game and take a second to watch history in the making.
Although I hadn’t picked the Bucks to win I am happy to have been able to witness their victory as well as watch the new emerging superstars coming to fruition around the League. So, congratulations to the Milwaukee Bucks for a well deserved ring and I personally cannot wait for next year’s season with all the players and teams coming back healthy.
Also, quick shout out to Bobby Portis for being an absolute legend all series, funniest guy on the court everytime.
Senior Jack Gilroy is a staff writer. His email is jgilroy@fandm.edu.