Bucks Beat Thunder to Win First NBA Cup, Giannis Antetokounmpo Named MVP

Too bad this game didn't count for the regular season, because the Greek Freak came to play.

Dec 17, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during the 3rd quarter of the Emirates NBA Cup championship game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

It's too bad that the NBA Cup championship game is the only contest that doesn't count towards regular season or postseason stats, because eight-time All-NBA Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo came to play against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 6-foot-11 superstar notched a 26-point, 19-rebound, 10-assist triple-double while powering his club to a surprise 97-81 blowout of the Western Conference's No. 1 seed, the Oklahoma City Thunder, to win their first-ever 2024 Emirates NBA Cup at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday night.

He was quickly named this year's unanimous NBA Cup MVP by a panel of 20 journalists, per the NBA's official X account.

Per ClutchPoints, the Greek Freak posted unreal averages of 30.5 points on 66.7 percent field goal shooting, 10.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 2.8 blocks per game. Antetokounmpo has now won two league MVP awards, one championship and one Finals MVP, one Defensive Player of the Year honor, and now the NBA Cup MVP. The 30-year-old has also already been named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team as one of its 75 best players ever, and in addition to the eight All-NBA berths has also made eight All-Star teams and five All-Defensive teams.

Antetokoumpo put on an absolute clinic, barreling through defenders all night. Reigning Coach of the Year Mark Daigneault scrambled to sic an adequate defender onto one of the league's most unstoppable fast-breaking forces, alternately auditioning 6-foot-4 two-time All-Defensive Team guard Alex Caruso, 6-foot-5 power forward Jalen Williams, 6-foot-3 guard Cason Wallace, and 7-foot center Isaiah Hartenstein onto him, to no avail.

Tuesday's matchup was fairly even throughout the first half of competition (the Bucks led by a single point, 51-50, at the break), but Milwaukee pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Oklahoma City 26-14 behind the expedient scoring efforts of Bucks All-Stars Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, who combined to score 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor and 6-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe. Antetokounmpo submitted a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double in that period alone.

The developing dynamic duo of Antetokounmpo and Lillard flashed even more of their tantalizing two-man game, which fans naturally expected to take off last year but only looked totally lethal in fits and starts. It's certainly been coming on of late.

Giannis x Dame 🙌 pic.twitter.com/UdqxmuSx66

— NBA (@NBA) December 18, 2024

When the dust had settled, the Bucks had outscored the Thunder 46-31 in the second half.

What was perhaps most impressive about the event was, in a high-pressure, neutral atmosphere, the Bucks really seemed to put the clamps on one of the league's best two-way teams defensively. The fact that Lillard, a known sieve, played a whopping 35:21 — and that former three-time All-Star Bucks small forward didn't play a second after being a late scratch with an unspecified illness — didn't matter one iota. Oklahoma City went ice cold after the half, and finished with a miserable 33.7 percent shooting rate from the field, including just 15.6 percent (5-of-32) shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. The Bucks, meanwhile, put on a shooting clinic from deep, going 17-of-40 (42.5 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc. They also shot 34-of-81 (42 percent) from the floor.

Milwaukee pulled down 52 boards to Oklahoma City's 43. The Bucks also badly outplayed the Thunder as passers, dishing out 25 dimes to Oklahoma City's 13.

Lillard finished with 23 very clutch points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor (5-of-10 from long range) and 6-of-7 shooting from the foul line, plus four rebounds, four assists and a steal. Brook Lopez chipped in 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting (3-of-6 from deep) and nine rebounds. Reserve wing Gary Trent Jr. was Milwaukee's only other double digit scorer, notching 13 bench points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field (3-of-6 from 3-point land).

All-NBA Thunder point guard led the opposition with 21 points on a rough 8-of-24 shooting from the floor and an insufficient 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line. Starting center Hartenstein had a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double. Probable first-time All-Star power forward Jalen Williams scored 18 points on 8-of-20 shooting.

Again, the NBA Cup victory does not count toward Milwaukee's 14-11 record or anybody's season averages. Still, the win is a clear sign of a major moment shift for Milwaukee. And it's not like the Bucks will go home without tallying a different kind of significant number: all 15 of the team's standard roster players will earn a $500,000 bonus for recording this win, which is a pretty big deal for late draft picks still on their rookie-scale contracts and veteran's minimum signings like starting small forward Taurean Prince, Trent and Delon Wright.

After a brutal 2-8 season start, the Bucks have now gone 12-3 (and, heck, 13-3 if you do want to count Tuesday's high-stakes win). In his 23 healthy contests, Antetokounmpo is averaging a league-most 32.7 points on 61.4 percent shooting from the field, 11.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.6 blocks a night.

Watching this man night in and night out, it can be easy to take his unbelievable athletic gifts for granted, especially when the rest of the team's roster isn't carrying its weight. Now, with head coach Doc Rivers' lineups reconfigured to prioritize defense without giving short shrift to 3-point shooting, Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee are firing on all cylinders again. How high can they climb?

If the Bucks' season turnaround continues and they can move up in the Eastern Conference standings, perhaps a third league MVP could be in Antetokounmpo's future this season, after all.

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