When the Milwaukee Bucks received the second-annual Emirates NBA Cup on Tuesday night time, they despatched a message to the league: Do not look previous us.
And so they doubled down on that warning with one easy act. Opting to not pop bottles of champagne and douse one another within the bubbly stuff to have fun the in-season match title.
After a 97-81 victory over the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder in Las Vegas to cap off the festivities, the scene was completely set for a celebration.
Due to the heroics of its two stars, Milwaukee was primed to let unfastened in Sin Metropolis for an evening of debauchery nicely earned. Giannis Antetokounmpo, named Cup MVP after a 26-point, 19-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, and Damian Lillard, who scored 23 factors with five-of-10 threes, had each cause to have fun silencing the doubters of their tandem.
But, as an alternative, the Bucks opted for a extra reserved method as they instantly shifted their focus ahead. Milwaukee left the goggles untouched and the bottles of booze on ice, as they determined to depart the celebrations for in the event that they hoist a Larry O’Brien trophy, come the tip of the season.
Rivers even consulted assistant coach Darvin Ham, who was on the helm of the Los Angeles Lakers once they received the inaugural in-season match final 12 months, on what the expertise was like.
It seems Ham, who stays undefeated within the NBA Cup by means of two seasons, provided Rivers a phrase of warning ought to they have fun too overtly for a trophy that is not the final prize.
Ham and the Lakers went for the normal method once they received, letting corks pop and champagne fly all all through the night time. LeBron James, an individual who is aware of a factor or two about championship celebrations given his 4 NBA titles, was one of the crucial enthusiastic Lakers and was even seen spraying media members with bubbly.
And whereas some observers had enjoyable with it, others did not appear to assume it was becoming for a crew of any stature, not to mention one as prestigious because the Lakers, to be celebrating the NBA Cup to that diploma.
One of many loudest voices of these important was Corridor of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley. The NBA legend turned TV character spoke on the matter whereas on the Dan Patrick Present final December and did not mince phrases.
“You do not do champagne for the in-season match,” Barkley stated. “The Lakers higher not put up an in-season match banner … if (the Lakers) put that in-season match banner up, I will roast their (expletive) on tv.”
Spoiler alert: The Lakers did put up an in-season match banner.
Barkley wasn’t the one one to really feel some kind of means in regards to the celebrations as Udonis Haslem, long-time NBA veteran and former teammate of James in Miami, shared the sentiment.
“I am all for folks getting their cash … however what we ain’t going to do is pop champagne and put up banners,” Haslem stated on his podcast The OGs Present final 12 months.
And it seems the Bucks have taken discover of the backlash the Lakers obtained, or not less than listened to Ham after his first-hand expertise, and went for the safer, albeit much less Las Vegas-esque, method to celebrating.
Nonetheless, the Bucks achieved their purpose in The Metropolis of Lights. Milwaukee avenged final 12 months’s NBA Cup semifinal loss to the Pacers and reminded people they continue to be a risk within the Jap Convention.
For the reason that in-season match started, the Bucks are 12-3 and boast a top-10 score on each ends of the ground. Fully shutting down skeptics who had been prepared to shut Milwaukee’s championship window after a 2-8 begin.
Now, with some new {hardware} on the mantle and 0 champagne stains on their jerseys, the Bucks look to maintain the momentum going all the best way to the NBA Playoffs. And in the event that they do win all of it, nobody will are available in the best way of these celebrations.
