Giannis Antetokounmpo tells Bucks fans to enjoy 2021 NBA championship 'until next one' on two-year anniversary
When the moment is so sweet and you've been waiting for it so long you don't forget easily where you were, how you felt and who was there with you.
That's the case for many surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks' NBA championship in 2021.
Whether you were shoulder to shoulder with 100,000 raucous fans in the Deer District for Game 6, at a bar hugging strangers on Water Street, listening to Ted Davis' iconic call from home or watching the clock hit zero with your Dad as confetti poured down inside Fiserv Forum, that night of July 20, 2021, is one to remember.
And two years later, the memories came flowing back for fans.
The tears. The jubilation. The euphoria.
While it's no doubt been disappointing for Bucks fans to watch the team unable to replicate that moment the past two seasons, bowing out in the playoffs well ahead of the NBA Finals, the lasting memories from that night are as strong as ever — including for its superstar player.
"What a night to remember!" Giannis Antetokounmpo wrote in social media posts Thursday. "Enjoy it until the next one."
Antetokounmpo posted a photo of himself Thursday showing him celebrate in the Fiserv Forum locker room after the Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns, 105-98, to win the franchise's second championship and first since 1971.
Antetokounmpo had the MVP trophy in his right hand after he tied an NBA Finals record by scoring 50 points in a clinching game.
The Bucks will enter the 2023-24 season with eyes on giving their fans this championship feeling again. While some things have changed since 2021, the Bucks will again bring back the core of the team that raised the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
But that can wait. On this day, Bucks fans listened to Antetokounmpo as they enjoyed a trip down memory lane.
Happy Two Year Anniversary of Milwaukee Bucks Game 6 Finals & 2021 NBA Championship at Fiserv Forum!
What a day
What a time
It’s still real
We will get back there again#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/gtiBIOzmCC— Paul Henning (@brewcitypaul) July 20, 2023
What that championship meant to the city of Milwaukee and Bucks fans is priceless from the team almost leaving to winning a ring, plus having a superstar like Giannis it’s a fairly tale. https://t.co/50BUQtM53X
— Darrell (@DC_Bucks_Fan) July 20, 2023
How wild was this night? Bars across Milwaukee ran out of beer. https://t.co/2tAFpfxRl4
— If Adventure Has A Name It Must Be Rob Wieland (@robowieland) July 20, 2023
Chills.
Being there was one of the best nights of my life. https://t.co/wkKxibb4TM— Dameon Nelson (@DameonNelson) July 20, 2023
It sure does, but we will get back there pic.twitter.com/srYZHnjUxC
— Just Sarah 🦌🏆💍 (@Soccer_3_Mom) July 20, 2023
I want to go back in time on this date where I was cheering and dancing somewhere deep in this crowd witnessing BUCKS HISTORY 🏆✨ https://t.co/sMDCIPezO0
— emily mac 🧀 (@emrachelz) July 20, 2023
On my deathbed, 1 of the lasting memories that I’ll think about will be this night, watching dreams come true surrounded by my fave people at our home bar in a city starved for a champion… years of heartbreak, hope, & an inconceivable goal, washed away in a flood of joyous tears https://t.co/0J2ZoYktdK
— 🐺 (@alexwolfer423) July 20, 2023
I miss this feeling https://t.co/7Rmq4cT7s0
— Jesse Zakshesky (@zaksheskyman) July 20, 2023
2 years ago Giannis dropped 50 and the Bucks won the championship aka something I never thought I’d see in my lifetime and happiest sports moment https://t.co/WZ9bR5IyQA
— Pizzy (@PartyWithPizzy) July 20, 2023
— Alex Syse (@alexsyse) July 20, 2023
— Dev (@xDevhs) July 20, 2023
I was trapped at work the whole time but our newsroom could see and hear all the chaos. I snapped this at 2am after I was finally able to leave the building pic.twitter.com/vMmKIUkvy6
— Jessie Geraci-Perez (@TheRealJay_Gee) July 20, 2023
Moderne Apartments pic.twitter.com/uY7PifZkmf
— Steven (@cashmahne) July 20, 2023
— Michael Mageles (@MichaelMageles) July 20, 2023
“BUCKS IN SIX!” pic.twitter.com/LwWgi6FUI5
— I'm the one-man army, Jason (@localteamhomer) July 20, 2023
— Dielon (@Dylan_Driessen) July 20, 2023
Cousin flew in from California. Spent my life savings on two tickets. Greatest experience of my life. pic.twitter.com/9XFWyWC3vz
— lex courtney (@lex_courtney) July 20, 2023
During the championship run, it quickly became a tradition to watch the games on my deck. We celebrated with some bourbon, and yes, grown men cry. pic.twitter.com/DGBisufk1U
— Drew Biskobing (@lilbisko5) July 20, 2023
Unless there's an NBA scheduling change, the Bucks will always hold the anniversary date to themselves.
The NBA Finals are always held in June but in 2021 the schedule was altered because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020-21 season, as a result, didn't begin until December, with the playoffs lasting well into the summer of 2021.
The summer of the Milwaukee Bucks.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis, Bucks fans celebrate 2021 NBA championship on anniversary
