"They were going to get swept" - Markieff Morris discredits Bucks' 2021 title, shades Giannis Antetokounmpo for injuring Kyrie
Giannis Antetokounmpo won his only NBA championship in 2021. Fast forward to now, and Giannis finds an unlikely defamer of his title in one of the players in this year’s NBA finals.
Dallas Mavericks’ Markieff Morris is participating in his second NBA final after playing for eight teams since being drafted in 2011. After winning the NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, Morris had his tours with the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets before going to Dallas.
Notably, Morris was part of the deal that brought Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks in 2023. As Irving's tenured teammate, Morris revealed what he felt happened in the Nets’ 2021 playoff run, where Irving injured his foot in a series versus Giannis’ Milwaukee Bucks.
“If Giannis ain’t put his foot under [Irving], [Brooklyn] would’ve had a championship. Milwaukee would still be without a championship. I know so. They were going to get swept. They know that. You can ask anybody on their team,” Morris said.
Leading 2-0 in the series, Irving sprained his ankle in a rebounding battle with Giannis in Game 3. It was a blink-and-miss moment, but the repercussions of the injury proved vital in the Nets’ campaign as Irving sat out for the rest of the series.
The Bucks, headlined by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, then took Game 3 and the subsequent game to tie.
The Nets’ were left with Kevin Durant and a struggling James Harden to carry much of the load as Brooklyn and Milwaukee won Games 5 and 6, respectively.
Giannis and the Bucks then dodged a bullet in deciding Game 7 after Durant's foot was on the three-point line, tying the game instead of winning it if it was counted as a three. The game went on to overtime, and the gassed Nets fell to the Bucks.
Irving’s injury in that series could have affected the series outcome. Alternately, Giannis advanced to the finals and dominated their series against the Phoenix Suns to pick up his only NBA title so far.
Giannis Antetokounmpo thanks fans after second straight first-round exit
Giannis and the Bucks have not quite reached their 2021 heights since then. In the past two seasons, Milwaukee has been eliminated in the first round, losing to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat last year and the sixth-seeded Indiana Pacers this year.
Nevertheless, Giannis thanked the Bucks' fans for their continued support this season after bouncing in the first round to a lower-seeded team.
"Milwaukee, THANK YOU! This season didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but I promise you we will get back to where we belong, and they’re going to give us our damn flowers," Antetokounmpo tweeted.
The Bucks will have an entire offseason to ponder their next roster moves as they try to build around Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo.