2021 NBA Season Concludes With Milwaukee Bucks as Champions

The Milwaukee Bucks have had championship aspirations for the last few years now. Unfortunately for them, they've come up short every time during the Giannis Antetokounmpo era. After making some key changes during the offseason, the Bucks finally constructed a roster that worked.

Clinching the third seed in the Eastern Conference, the Bucks went into the playoffs with a first-round matchup against the Miami Heat. Although their Game 1 matchup was a tough one that required overtime to settle the score, the Bucks came out on top. Following that overtime matchup, Milwaukee couldn't stop winning.

Four games later, they achieved the sweep over the Heat and advanced to the next round to play the Brooklyn Nets. Before the 2020-2021 NBA season started, the Nets were the favorites to win the Eastern Conference Finals. 

But as injuries piled up in Brooklyn, the Nets became less likely to make the magical run that everybody thought they would go on before the season started. It wasn't easy for Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Opening the series on the road, the Bucks dropped the first two games.

After getting two home games, Milwaukee managed to tie the series up at two. Although the Bucks fell 3-2 to Brooklyn and faced elimination in Game 6, they evened the series score once again and forced a Game 7 where they went on to defeat the Nets in an overtime thriller, winning 115-111.

The Bucks then went on to face the Atlanta Hawks for a seven-game series. Although they got off to a rough start, losing Game 1 at home, the Bucks won the next two matchups. By Game 6, the Bucks had a 3-2 lead over the Hawks and closed the series out early, avoiding another seven-game scenario. With a 118-107 victory on the road, the Bucks went to the NBA Finals for the third time in franchise history. 

The Bucks versus the Phoenix Suns was an unlikely finals scenario throughout the year, but the series didn't disappoint. Like the Brooklyn series in the second round, the Bucks got off to a less than ideal start. With two games on the road, the Bucks dropped both and fell into an 0-2 hole to start the championship series. 

After the series went to Milwaukee for two games, the Bucks came out on top twice, evening the score at 2-2 before heading back to Phoenix. That's when the Bucks were really looking to make a statement. Taking down the Suns 123-119 in Phoenix, the Bucks picked up their third-straight win to make the Suns face elimination.

Hosting the Suns on Tuesday night for Game 6, the Bucks needed just one more win to close it out. Although the Suns were leading at the half on Tuesday, the Bucks rallied in the third quarter and tied the game up before heading into the final period of the game and potentially the series.

With a strong fourth-quarter showing, Antetokounmpo scored 13 of his 50 total points in the fourth quarter of Game 6. By defeating the Suns 105-98, the Bucks came out on top, hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy for the second time in franchise history. Antetokounmpo, as expected, earned his first-ever Finals MVP honors after averaging 35 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists during the series.