Skip Bayless boldly snubs Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks despite owning NBA Cup bragging rights
Longtime sports analyst Skip Bayless was not impressed with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks despite them winning the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup. The Bucks dominated the second half of the NBA Cup Final to beat the OKC Thunder 97-81, with Antetokounmpo being named the MVP of the tournament.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Bayless made a prediction for later in the season. The veteran analyst claimed that the Thunder will have a better postseason than the Bucks.
"The Thunder will go farther this season than the Bucks," Bayless said.
The Milwaukee Bucks shook off a shaky start to the season by winning 10 of their last 12 games. The Bucks are now sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 14-11 and can call themselves the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup winners.
Giannis Antetokounmpo put the Bucks on his shoulders, cementing himself as one of the contenders to win the NBA MVP. Antetokounmpo has been ridiculously good this season and was ignored in the first three weeks due to how poor Milwaukee was playing.
"The Greek Freak" is back in the spotlight and will try to get even better as the season continues. As Antetokounmpo mentioned after winning the NBA Cup, the job is not close to being done with many more regular season games to play.
Regardless of how serious fans and other teams take the NBA Cup, it's a positive accomplishment for the Bucks. Their rookies and bench players are set to earn $513,000, which is a lot of money for a non-superstar.
Antetokounmpo credited his teammates for sticking to their game plan on Tuesday and for accepting the challenge of winning the tournament. They resume their season on Friday and Saturday in a set of back-to-back games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards.
Giannis Antetokounmpo comments on being named NBA Cup MVP
Giannis Antetokounmpo's growing trophy cabinet has three more pieces of hardware – the NBA Cup medal, the NBA Cup trophy and the NBA Cup MVP trophy. Antetokounmpo, who had a triple-double in the Final, told reporters after the game that he never planned to win the NBA Cup MVP.
"When you approach a game like this, you're not thinking about MVPs," Antetokounmpo said, according to NBA.com. "You're thinking about trying to win the game, and sometimes when you try to do whatever it takes, you put yourself in position to be successful and you're able to get a trophy like that. I don't know why I got the MVP, I'm happy that I got it. I don’t take it for granted. I'm most happy we got to win the game. Some of my teammates got life-changing money."
Each player for the Milwaukee Bucks is set to receive $513,000. It's not much for someone like Antetokounmpo or Damian Lillard, but it's a lot of money for the rookies and the two-way players.