Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Reflects on 'Weird' NBA Cup Aftermath

The Bucks' best player reflected on what it meant to win the NBA Cup and how it will affect the team moving forward.

Dec 20, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) during the first quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks won the second-ever NBA Cup. They did so by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals in Las Vegas. It was a good series of wins for them, as they have started to go on a bit of a run after a really poor start to the season when they started 2-8.

With this being an in-season tournament, the winner of the NBA Cup raises a trophy at the end of the tournament. It's strange because it isn't the end of the season, but they are still celebrating something. It's odd for the players as well, including the Bucks players who just won.

Giannis Antetokounmpo talked about how strange it was to be lifting a trophy even though the season itself is still going. When asked about the oddity of lifting a trophy in the middle of the season, Antetokounmpo acknowledged how weird of a situation it is.

“It’s definitely weird,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “Usually when you hold up a trophy, that’s it. You have your offseason, time to rest, time to be with your family. It’s just weird lifting up a trophy and coming back two days later.

“You cannot really celebrate because in two days, you’re playing the best team in the NBA. It’s definitely weird. But, okay. It is what it is. The season continues. We have 50-something games in front of us. Just gotta keep on improving, keep on being healthy.”

The players are still trying to figure out how to celebrate this victory. The Lakers won the NBA Cup a year ago and celebrated by spraying champagne everywhere as they had just won the NBA title. Teams have to figure out how to deal with this new, strange dynamic of an in-season tournament.

Milwaukee knows that the job is not done. They have a lot of work to do in order to get back up into the top three in the East, which is where they want to be. They want to make sure that they have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Bucks still could end up making a move at the trade deadline. There are a few different positions that they could use help at, so they have options. Whatever move they make could decide whether or not they are able to win their second NBA Championship in the Antetokounmpo era.

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