The 10 most memorable moments from the Milwaukee Bucks regular season in 2021-22

As is the case every year — and certainly after last season — the 2021-22 Milwaukee Bucks season won't be remembered for what happened in the regular season. But on the cusp of the 2022 playoffs, perhaps we can take a little enjoyment from the journey that brought the Bucks to this place.

For the second straight year, the Bucks have the No. 3 seed after going 51-31 and will start the postseason Sunday against the Bulls at Fiserv Forum. The best memories are yet to be made, but here's what we have so far...

10. Giannis finger roll beats Charlotte

After an inbound with 5.9 seconds left in a tie game against Charlotte on Dec. 1, Giannis Antetokounmpo took the ball at the top of the key and drove in for the winning basket with a pretty finger roll — although the half-court shot from Miles Bridges seemed to be halfway down and would have flipped the game for the Hornets at the buzzer. Milwaukee won, 127-125.

9. Giannis discovers Oreos and milk

There's just something about Antetokounmpo news conferences. And food discoveries. The man who won Milwaukee's heart with a tweet about smoothies once upon a time claimed he had just discovered you could dunk Oreos in milk in November. At a news conference after a game, he relayed a story of how this revelation came about.

“And then I realized from now on, that’s an every night snack for me," he said. "It’s amazing. I remember I went to the practice facility today and we were talking about it a little bit and the guys were like, you’ve never tried that? I was like, guys you have to realize, I’m not American. Like, things that you feel like it’s normal, for you guys it’s like an everyday thing, we have other everyday things. Like, you guys have peanut butter and jelly, we have butter and jelly. It’s like just two totally different worlds."

8. Bucks get White House treatment

Win the title, meet the President. The Bucks took advantage of their championship status with a visit to the White House in Washington, D.C., presenting President Joe Biden with a Bucks jersey.

“It’s super humbling to be recognized on that stage and with as many people watching as they were is super cool,” said Biden's fellow Delaware native, Donte DiVincenzo. “And also just to be here with the team. It’s one thing to be here by yourself and do stuff kind of individualized, but to do it as a team and to be recognized with your team around you is super cool.”

7. Whew, Brook Lopez returns

It marked a huge sigh of relief that big man Brook Lopez was able to return at all, let alone return to his previous form, after back surgery knocked him out for most of the season. Lopez played in the opener in October but then wasn't seen on the court again until March 13, when he came back against Utah. George Hill also returned from a prolonged absence that day against the Jazz, a 117-111 win for Milwaukee.

More: How 'Mamu,' the Wisconsin Herd and Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez helped one another

6. Khris Middleton gets swatted by his teammate in NBA All-Star Game

Antetokounmpo didn't have the All-Star Game MVP performance of 2021, but he did score 30 to help Team LeBron prevail in the annual showcase. Not only that, he also swatted his teammate, Khris Middleton, for a block in the game. Rude.

Giannis and his brothers, Thanasis and Alex, also participated in the NBA Skills Competition during all-star weekend in Cleveland.

5. Jrue Holiday's game-winner against Heat

The Bucks staged a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback to down the Miami Heat, the team that ultimately took the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, capped by a game-winning basket from Jrue Holiday with 1.9 seconds to go off a jump-ball win. That gave Milwaukee a 120-119 victory March 2.

“I think when I grabbed the ball and everybody kind of stayed next to their man, it was me and Gabe Vincent one-on-one and at that point it was just kind of get on top of the rim," Holiday said. "I knew at that point that even if I would have missed somebody — probably Giannis — would’ve cleaned it up. I think for the most part it was try to get on top of the rim with time left so if I did miss it to get another shot.”

4. Grayson Allen vs. Alex Caruso

Perhaps it's not a moment Bucks fans want to spend too much time pondering, but it's certainly one of the most discussed moments of the season. In January, Grayson Allen went up to defend the Bulls' Alex Caruso, who'd gotten loose on a breakaway, and sent Caruso to the ground. Allen was ejected from the game and later suspended another after Caruso broke his wrist and needed surgery, and it reopened Allen's record of perceptively dirty fouls dating to his days at Duke University. It also provides the biggest subplot to the upcoming playoff series.

3. The block of Joel Embiid

The Giannis Antetokounmpo brand is quickly becoming as much about spectacular blocks as what he does on offense. With Milwaukee nursing a 118-116 lead over Philadelphia in a crucial late-season road contest, Joel Embiid grabbed James Harden's airball and rose up for a putback in the final seconds. But Giannis elevated even more quickly to bat the ball off the backboard. Officials initially called it a goaltend, but a review upheld the play as a clean block, and Milwaukee won the game.

In a matchup between two top contenders for the NBA MVP, it was yet another win for Giannis as a defender, offering an homage to his legendary block that will forever in NBA Finals lore.

2. Ring night

To the victors go the spoils. During the first game of the year at Fiserv Forum, the Bucks raised their banner, collected their gaudy rings and celebrated like the 2021 NBA champions, then followed it with a brilliant performance against ostensibly Milwaukee's biggest competition for the 2022 crown (at least out of the East), the Brooklyn Nets.

1. Giannis breaks the record and beats the Nets

What should be scary for other NBA teams is that Antetokounmpo has gotten better in some of his weakest areas, specifically shooting. He's no longer a sub-70% shooter at the free-throw line, and his accuracy on jump shots has improved, even though his overall shooting percentage and three-point percentage have dipped from recent years.

Still, it remains ironic that Antetokounmpo became the franchise's all-time scoring leader on a three-pointer and then sealed a late rally with overtime free throws to beat the Nets on March 31, 120-119. It was a second straight 40-point performance for Antetokounmpo, who passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Bucks history with a game-tying three with 18 seconds left.

It was the perfect blend of history and in-the-moment success, one that further cemented Antetokounmpo as the greatest player in franchise history.

Honorable mention

• Bobby Portis rains in 8 three-pointers in a tense loss against Brooklyn in February, finishing with a career-best 30 points.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 50 points for the first time since Game 6 of the NBA Finals as the Bucks take down Indiana in February, 128-119.

• DeMarcus Cousins, in general.

• The Bucks shore up their frontcourt by trading DiVincenzo, Semi Ojeleye and Rodney Hood in a deal that brought back Serge Ibaka.

• Despite being surrounded by four Minnesota defenders, Antetokounmpo throws an alley-oop to himself off the glass for a dunk in an early-season loss.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 10 moments to remember from the Milwaukee Bucks 2021-22 season