It's been two years since the Bucks won the NBA championship. Which of these moments was your favorite?

It's already been two years since the Milwaukee Bucks laid claim to the 2021 NBA championship, but it feels like yesterday.

Capping off a COVID-altered 2020-21 season that lingered deep into the summer, Giannis Antetokounmpo transformed from star to legend as Milwaukee secured its second ever title and first championship in 50 years with a Game 6 win over the Phoenix Suns on July 20, 2021.

There are so many memorable moments that it's nearly hard to document them all. But we knew you'd want to re-live these.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 50 points in the clincher

Just three weeks removed from a hyperextended knee that looked much worse, Giannis cemented his status among the game's highest tier with a 50-point performance in a 105-98 victory against the Suns, including an uncharacteristically brilliant 17 of 19 from the free-throw line.

The Game 6 win gave the Bucks a 4-2 series victory over the Suns, the crown jewel of Antetokounmpo's already remarkable career that includes two MVPs, five (now seven) all-star appearances, an All-Star Game MVP, a defensive player of the year award and three (now four) first-team all-defense selections, all before he turned 27 years old.

The easy choice for Finals MVP christened his showing in a number of endearing ways, including a postgame celebration that won't be forgotten anytime soon and a legendary stop at Chick-Fil-A the next day with trophies in tow.

The parade

Less than 48 hours after hoisting the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, the Bucks were caravanning through downtown Milwaukee, part of a celebratory parade. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton were expected to play for Team USA in the Olympics and needed to get on an airplane, necessitating a quick turnaround that Bucks and city officials somehow pulled off.

Brandon Jennings, whose "Bucks in 6" proclamation somewhat accidentally became a Bucks mantra, was there. Former Senator Herb Kohl, the ex-owner who kept the team in town, was there. Bobby Portis, the People's Champ, brought a WWE title belt. And the rest of the players were there, including P.J. Tucker, whose champagne-soaked speech ("Milwaukee, we Dogs!") proved to be one of the timeless highlights.

It was essentially a daytime extension of the Deer District, which became the focal point of Bucks enthusiasm, bringing massive crowds to the area in front of Fiserv Forum during games home and away.

The alley-oop

Before the Game 6 coronation, the Bucks had to steal a Finals game in Phoenix. They did so in Game 5 via unforgettable means.

Milwaukee was nursing a 120-119 lead in Phoenix, with the Finals tied at two games apiece in the crucial fifth game. Suns star Devin Booker drove into the paint with 20 seconds to go, but Milwaukee's Jrue Holiday stole it away, then marched it ahead and threw an audacious alley-oop to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who slammed it down and drew a foul.

He missed the free throw but got his own rebound, leading to two more foul shots for Khris Middleton, which he split to ice the game. The Bucks went back to Milwaukee needing one win to claim their first NBA title in 50 years. And they got it.

The block

Adding to his already considerable legacy in Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo fought off injury to make an incredible defensive play late in Game 4 with the Bucks trying to tie the series at 2-2 against the Suns.

The Bucks were ahead, 101-98, with 1:15 remaining when Antetokounmpo came out of nowhere to disrupt an alley-oop between Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton. Milwaukee won the game, then went on to win the series, and the block became instant legend.

Kevin Durant's foot on the line

There's an alternate universe where the 2021 season is remembered for a stunning late-game collapse against the Brooklyn Nets in a physical, gritty semifinals series. Bucks center Brook Lopez, apparently not seeing the shot clock winding down, didn't attempt a shot with Milwaukee inbounding and ahead, 109-107, giving Brooklyn the ball with 6 seconds to go in regulation. Kevin Durant, battling against Milwaukee defender P.J. Tucker, elevated for what looked like a game-winning three-pointer on the other end. But replays showed his foot was on the line, meaning the game had been sent to overtime but wasn't over.

The teams combined for just eight points in the extra session, but Milwaukee notched six of those to move to the Eastern Conference finals and stun the Brooklyn fans. The 115-111 win vaulted Milwaukee past what could have been regarded at its toughest roadblock to a championship, a team that came into the series with star triumvirate James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Durant (though the first two dealt with significant injuries in the series, and Irving was out completely for games 5-7).

Game 1: He's back

The postseason run appeared to come crashing down around Bucks fans in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, when the knee injury that took Giannis out of the game looked like it might end his postseason — and perhaps even more beyond that, though an initial report surprisingly indicated that there was no structural damage. Though the Bucks were able to put the series away behind Khris Middleton and clinch the franchise's first trip to the Finals since 1974, it wasn't clear when – or if – Giannis would be available to play in the Finals.

He was initially listed as doubtful for Game 1, then moved to "questionable" hours before tip-off. Then, it was revealed he'd be in the starting lineup.

It remained a scary injury, but we know now how Giannis was able to perform. He posted 20 points and 17 rebounds in 35 minutes of the Game 1 loss, then proceeded to pile up unforgettable performances throughout the rest of the Finals.

Khris Middleton takes over with Giannis sidelined

With Giannis sidelined (but cheering enthusiastically on the bench) by injury in a 2-2 series against the Atlanta Hawks, Khris Middleton became the star he had to be.

In Game 5 at Fiserv Forum, Middleton scored 26 points with 13 rebounds, eight assists and two steals, helping to fill the void with Antetokounmpo unavailable as "Bucks In 6" chants rained down.

In Game 6, it was more of the same from Middleton, who scored 32 points with seven assists and three steals as the Bucks took down the Hawks in the series, 4-2, to clinch that first berth in the NBA Finals since 1974.

The truth is, it's hard to pinpoint just which game of the playoff run should be considered "The Middleton Game." Was it one of those against Atlanta or his 35-point performance in a grisly 86-83 win in Game 3 against Brooklyn, a must-have after the Bucks went down in the series, 2-0? Was it Game 6 of that series, when Middleton scored 38 and helped force a seventh?

More: These are Khris Middleton's greatest playoff performances for the Milwaukee Bucks

Was it Game 4 of the Finals, when he posted a playoff career-best 40 points with six rebounds to help tie the series at 2-2?

Or, was it...

Khris Middleton calls game, shocks Miami with buzzer beater

Milwaukee came into the postseason with a daunting challenge: a first-round battle with the Miami Heat, which had unceremoniously dropped the Bucks from the 2020 "bubble" postseason in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

But the Bucks wound up sweeping Miami this time, 4-0, and it started with a bang. In Game 1, Miami had just tied the game on a three-pointer with 20 seconds left, but Middleton hunted for a shot and pulled up for a game-winning jumper with 0.5 of a second left in overtime, giving the Bucks a 109-107 triumph at Fiserv Forum. It was the best possible omen for a playoff run.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, the philosopher

At many points in the Finals, we saw Giannis the Philosopher, whose postgame nuggets of wisdom circulated widely.

He'd been asked about many of his career highlights, including a Game 4 block that has now been cemented as one of the greatest moments in his career. His thoughtful introspection before Game 5 caught a lot of attention.

"When I think about, 'Oh, yeah, I did this, I'm so great, I had 30, I had 25-10-10 or whatever the case might be, you're going to think about that ... usually the next day, you're going to suck," Giannis said during media availability.

"Simple as that, the next few days you're going to be terrible," he added. "I figured out the mindset to have is, when you focus on your past, that’s your ego. 'I did this. We were able to beat this team, 4-0. I did this in the past, I won that in the past.' When you focus on your future, that’s my pride. 'Next, Game 5, I'll do this and this and this,' that's your pride talking. It doesn't happen. I kind of try to focus on the moment, the present. That's humility. That's being humble. That's not setting expectations. That's going out there enjoying the game, competing at a high level."

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: Milwaukee Bucks 2021 NBA championship, two years later, top memories