Our SportsLync Marketing intern team shares thoughts on the NBA Finals concluding in favor of the Bucks

Read about the NBA Finals game between the Bucks and the Suns – with Giannis Antetokounmpo taking home the Finals MVP honors. Due to COVID-19 protocols, his brother, Thanasis, a reserve player for the Bucks, was not available for Game 6. But Giannis did go on Instagram live with his brother from the locker room while the Bucks players were celebrating.

By Tyler Gibson, Marketing Intern

The 2021 NBA finals came to a battle of underdogs, closing game 6 as athletes and fans celebrated the performance of the Phoenix Suns, who surprised many with their victory in the Western Conference, and the Milwaukee Bucks, the former of the two not participating in any finals game since 1993, while the latter saw their last final in 1974 — almost a staggering 50 years.

After another close game, the Milwaukee Bucks have emerged as champions. Since their rocky start, they’ve proven themselves as formidable contenders with recovered all-star Giannis Antetokounmpo, and with fantastic support from Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and Brook Lopez.

Meanwhile, the Suns had a seemingly unlikely victory over other Western contenders, although undoubtedly fortunate that other teams in the Western Conference were missing key players. Regardless, their success remains incredible considering their recovery from a 19-63 season by its conclusion in 2019, only 2 years ago. The turnaround team has been led by stars Chris Paul and Devin Booker, benefitting from notable support from teammates such as Deandre Ayton.

It seems that the competitive spirit had caused emotions to be high for both teams, but Phoenix emphasized this trend, evidently, as multiple incidents of unsportsmanlike behavior amongst the crowd have become newsworthy, causing some to question why.

Important to note is the initial response to the “Suns in Four” fan — while the community was supportive of a passionate fan, if not a little excessive (a unique action figure of the fan sold for $7,000 on eBay), some cite his windfall and fame as support for aggressive behavior. Suns star Devin Booker gifted the man a signed jersey and game tickets following the incident, setting a precedent that other fans may find replicable. Rather than spark a figurative crusade in the name of Phoenix team, the Suns may want to distance themselves from the support of rowdy persons. All teams, ultimately, would want to consider the influence of their support.

The Phoenix Suns opened the games with two victories against the Milwaukee Bucks. However since then, they’ve maintained an unfortunate losing streak against the Eastern contenders. Arizona, hopeful to see a tie-breaking 7^th game, never had a chance to.

Since the start of the finals, the Bucks have recovered valiantly: after an injury during the end of the Eastern playoffs, star Giannis Antetokounmpo has proven that he would not let his team continue the finals without a fight, scoring an impressive 42 and 41 points for games 2 and 3 respectively and being a powerful presence on the court after.  He has undoubtedly proven to be the edge his team needed to pull ahead during this series.

Ultimately, the Milwaukee Bucks have earned the title of champion, ending a half-century long absence from the finals. With this, undoubtedly, a reason for loyal fans to celebrate these stars athletes.

By Jalen Kountze, Marketing Intern

The Milwaukee Bucks have won the 2021 NBA Finals, beating the Phoenix Suns in six games. This is Milwaukee’s first championship in 50 years, and the fan base is ecstatic. Giannis Antetokounmpo took home the Finals MVP honors after averaging 35 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists to go along with a monster 50-point performance in game 6 to win the title.

With this championship, Giannis has had all the accolades of a Hall of Famer in his short career. Two MVP awards, a Defensive Player of the Year award, Most Improved Player award, five all-star appearances to go along with an All-Star MVP honors. Now, he has a ring and a Finals MVP award under his belt as well, with his best years still ahead of him. The Bucks have been dominating the Eastern Conference in recent years, and there may be more championships in their future with Antetokounmpo leading the charge. Giannis is climbing the all-time charts each year, and he may be in the argument for best player of all time sooner than people think.

As for the Phoenix Suns, point guard Chris Paul was hunting for his first title in his 16-year career. This was the closest Paul has ever gotten to winning a championship, and there are many questions surrounding his future. He ensured the media that he wasn’t retiring after the Game Six loss. However, with free agency looming and Paul turning 37 next season, there is a question of whether the veteran point guard will return to the young core of the Phoenix Suns. There are many contending teams that could use Paul’s skills, but he may decide to stay in Phoenix with Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and the Suns hoping for another finals appearance. This off-season will be one of most interesting we have seen in a while, and I believe the league will be more competitive than ever next season.  

Photo by Michael Tipton – Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic — CC BY-SA 2.0