Giannis Antetokounmpo Used Iconic Kobe Bryant Line After Bucks Won NBA Cup

This is the Mamba Mentality.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo celebrates after winning the Emirates NBA Cup championship game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at T-Mobile Arena on December 17, 2024. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

After winning the NBA Cup trophy with a 97-81 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night in Las Vegas, the Milwaukee Bucks allowed themselves to celebrate, but not too much. The Bucks savored the moment but, at the recommendation of assistant coach Darvin Ham, left the champagne on ice.

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who took home NBA Cup MVP honors after he poured in 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in the victory, made it clear to his team that the accomplishment is an important one for the team to revel in, but emphasized to ESPN's Malika Andrews in a postgame interview the need for the organization to keep its eyes on the prize, echoing an iconic line from the late Kobe Bryant in the process.

Giannis Antetokounmpo: "We're going to stay locked in because the job's not done."

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) December 18, 2024

Whether it was intended to be or not, the "job's not done" line is a nod to a press conference quote from Bryant during the 2009 NBA Finals, when the Los Angeles Lakers star was asked why he wasn't happy to be holding a 2-0 lead in the championship round.

From Antetokounmpo's perspective, it's easy to understand why he doesn't want this team to get too high following the NBA Cup victory. Milwaukee had started the season 2-8 and at one point, was struggling to the extent that Antetokounmpo even questioned his team's will to compete.

But the team's focus was as sharp as a tack during the NBA Cup tourney, and Antetokounmpo, while imploring the team to celebrate its achievement, also challenged them to maintain the focus.

"We have just got to stay humble, keep on improving," Antetokounmpo said. "We have a lot of basketball in front of us. We play Cleveland on Friday. Very, very good team.

"They are going to be waiting for us. Right now, the emotion is at an all-time high. We have to bring it down, be humble. Once we leave here tomorrow, go back to the gym, lock in, and hopefully we can go and get a win against the Cavs."

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