Connaughton becomes fifth Notre Dame player to win NBA Championship

The Milwaukee Bucks bested the Phoenix Suns for the fourth-straight game Tuesday night, this one a 105-98 victory that clinched the first title for the franchise since 1971.

It also marks the first time a former Notre Dame player played in and won an NBA Finals as a player since John Paxson of the Bulls in 1993 as former Irish guard Pat Connaughton is sipping the victory champagne.

Connaughton played 23 minutes in the Bucks victory while pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out an assist along the way.

Connaughton becomes just the fifth former Notre Dame player to win an NBA Championship as a player, joining Paxson, Bill Laimbeer, Billy Hassett, and Joe Kleine (who transferred to Arkansas after just one season at Notre Dame and didn’t actually play in the NBA Finals he was a part of).

Related: Notre Dame’s all-time NBA and ABA Championship Players