NBA Insider Shares Rare Perspective on 2021 Bucks Championship

That championship was extra special.

Eva Geitheim | Nov 10, 2024

Scott Taetsch-Imagn Images

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Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks championship win in 2021 feels like a far memory as the Bucks begin the 2024-25 season 2-7, with losses in six of their last seven games.

Though the Bucks are looking to win another title with superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brian Windhorst made the argument that no championship will feel as good as the one the Bucks won in 2021.

Windhorst told Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the brother of Giannis, that he considers the Bucks championship win one of the "purest" title victories. The Bucks had not won a championship in 50 years and returned to the NBA Finals for the first time since the 1970s.

That championship team also featured the Bucks' biggest superstars in ages in Giannis, who has spent his entire career with the Bucks. Milwaukee did not compile a team of superstars or free agents, but primarily relied on their players to win the title.

"The 2021 championship is one of the purest championships that you could ever win," Windhorst told Thanasis. "Homegrown. 50 years, they finally go back. They win, they win in this amazing moment. They're will never be a night like that again. It is okay to say that is the mountaintop ... It's gonna be almost impossible to replicate that. Even if Giannis wins two more it will never be like that because that was the purest one and it happened in Milwaukee."

"The 2021 (@Bucks) CHAMPIONSHIP is one of the purest CHAMPIONSHIPS that you could ever win...."@ESPN's @WindhorstESPN and @Thanasis_ante43 keep it real about winning and losing in the #NBA. Watch the full conversation on YouTube.

(@ESPNMilwaukee) #Bucks pic.twitter.com/lIxD0ZRMdj
— Thanalysis Show (@ThanalysisShow) November 8, 2024

The championship was not an easy victory either. The Bucks fell behind the Phoenix Suns 2-0 in the series, but rallied and won their next four games to claim the title. Giannis played out of his mind throughout the series, scoring 42 points in Game 2, and then 50 points in the championship-sealing victory. The win came in the city of Milwaukee, leaving the whole city celebrating.

"Everyone wants to win one more," Windhorst said. "It is worth saying the mountaintop was achieved. Once you're a champion, that's it."

Giannis and the Bucks would certainly love to win another championship, even if the first one was the sweetest. Winning another title would also add to Giannis's legacy, and could bump him higher on the list of NBA greats.