The Bucks fans had paid the check at a bar near Fiserv Forum, and they were headed to Sunday night’s Game 4 against the Pacers. But just before leaving, their conversation turned to the subject of superstars leaving their teams, be it for bigger paydays, or brighter prospects, or both.
So of course, the subject of Giannis came up, but not like it does on your average national talk show. These were Bucks fans, after all, and they’ve seen his hometown loyalty up close. And for a few more minutes, they waxed nostalgic about how Giannis has time and again proven himself different from everyone else.
Twice, he’s signed contracts to extend his stay in Milwaukee, most recently before the 2023-24 season. The first time, you’ll recall, was back in December of 2020, before he and the Bucks had won anything.
“And then,” one of the bar-going Bucks fans said, “he takes them to the ’ship the very next year!” Which led to one of them mentioning, with acolyte-like reverence, the legendary Valley Oop play that clinched Game 5 en route to #BucksIn6. To which another replied, “You want to see it? I’ve got it on my phone. I watch it whenever I’m having a bad day.”
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A minute later, all eyes were on his phone, marveling at Jrue Holliday’s steal of the ball, the steeliness of his pass to Giannis, and the cherry on top – the crashing dunk, and that Giannis stare. The video ended. Their smiles stayed. And they headed out for the night’s game at Fiserv, buoyed by high hopes for a series-tying win.
You know by now, of course, that those hopes were dashed. You know about Damian Lillard’s ruptured Achilles tendon, and the somber cloud that descended upon the Bucks, and the 3-1 deficit that now stares them in the face.
After Game 4, the Bucks’ postgame comments were full of empathy and respect for Lillard, and of determination to not go gentle into Game 5 tonight. The plan, cliché though it may sound, is to worry not about winning three straight games, but to just win one. And then another. And then one more after that.
“We’re resilient people. We all are. The whole world is,” Bucks Coach Doc Rivers said. “And we’re going to have to show that.”
But winning just this series is now an epic long shot, to say nothing of the title run folks envisioned when the season began. So talk will, naturally, turn to what all of this means for next season.
With Lillard’s long recovery time and a roster ripe for overhaul, the offseason talking point is etched in stone. Gird yourself for the daily Giannis rumors. Most will frame his departure as an article of faith: Surely, the Bucks have to trade him now, either for their own good or because he’ll demand it.
The narrative will be loud, and it will be omnipresent. Which doesn’t equate to it being true.
Giannis stepped to Game 4’s postgame podium a little past midnight, and the question of resilience was put to him.
“No matter what is in front of me, whatever I’m dealing with, I try not to put emotion into the game. Because I feel like the moment you start putting emotion in the game, you can’t be consistent,” he said. So he was going to prepare for the next steps as he always did.
“There’s no extra juice. I’m, like, juiced up. I don’t need no extra juice,” he continued. “What I’ve realized throughout my career, I don’t look for extra motivation. I don’t. I try to keep emotion out of basketball. Go out there and do my job. I get paid a lot of money to do this. I’m extremely blessed.
“I love playing in high-pressure situations. I love facing adversity in my life.”
The words were about Game 5.
And, perhaps, a little bit more.
