Last season, the Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated in the semifinals of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. This year, they went to Las Vegas and will return to Wisconsin as champions.
The Bucks have won the second ever NBA in-season tournament, now known as the Emirates NBA Cup, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 at T-Mobile Arena in Nevada.
Led by superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the Bucks celebrated on the court as two Emirates Airlines flight attendants wheeled out the trophy on a cart.
As children from a local YMCA handed out medals to the stars on the championship team, NBA commissioner Adam Silver invited the team to hoist the trophy.
Antetokounmpo raised it up high as confetti rained down on his teammates to celebrate their accomplishment. For his efforts in the win – scoring a triple-double of 26 points, 19 rebounds and ten assists – Giannis was named MVP of the tournament.
It’s the second team trophy that Antetokounmpo has gotten his hands on after he won the 2021 NBA Finals. It’s also the fourth time the Greek-Nigerian player has been named MVP of something: twice the league MVP, once the NBA Finals MVP, and now the NBA Cup MVP.
Giannis Antetokounmpo celebrates after the Milwaukee Bucks win the Emirates NBA Cup
It’s also the first team trophy in the long and accomplished career of Antetokounmpo’s co-star, point guard Damian Lillard.
Lillard complimented Antetokounmpo’s dominance in the post with a 23 point, four rebound, four assist performance highlighted by his 5-for-10 shooting from 3-point range.
The Bucks players all received a healthy financial incentive for winning this trophy: $515,000 each.
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