Giannis Named MVP for 2024 NBA Cup Bracket as Bucks Win Championship vs. SGA, Thunder
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRT
Featured Columnist IVDecember 18, 2024
Giannis Antetokounmpo keeps adding to his trophy case.
The Milwaukee Bucks superstar was named the NBA Cup MVP after leading his team to a 97-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the championship round on Tuesday night.
The Greek Freak was in rare form, notching a triple-double with 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with three blocks and two steals, dominating the game on both ends of the floor.
Damian Lillard added 23 points and four assists for the Bucks, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander contributed 21 points in the losing effort.
It was a statement victory for both Giannis and the Bucks as Milwaukee continues to look like a force after a 2-8 start to the season:
Micah Adams @MAdamsStatGuyAn MVP-type performance from Giannis.<br><br>This is the best he's ever been which speaks volumes for a two-time MVP and champion who once dropped 50 in a title-clinching win.<br><br>He stopped shooting 3s.<br>He become a more aggressive shot blocker.<br><br>This isn't a good Bucks team. He's great.
A year ago, the Bucks lost in the NBA Cup semifinals to the Indiana Pacers, part of a disappointing overall season that ended with a first-round exit against the Pacers.
There were serious concerns after the team's slow start this year as well, though the Bucks have now won 12 of its last 17 games in the regular season and claimed Tuesday's NBA Cup.
Lillard told ESPN's Jamal Collier on Friday that Antetokounmpo, in particular, kept pushing the Bucks forward through those early struggles.
"I would be texting with Giannis, and we'd be talking at practice or whatever, his mind was never shut off," he said. "He was never discouraged. He was never overly concerned. It was always, fight. Our conversations had always been, like, we're going to turn it around. We're going to figure it out. We're going to lead. We've got to keep going. We've got to dominate. I wasn't overly concerned because I knew that eventually it would turn around just based off of that."
On Tuesday, Antetokounmpo made sure that he, and the Bucks, kept dominating.
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