You know the scene, and know it well, because you see it unfold all the time.
The playoff series is over, and both teams are milling about on the court or the ice or the field. Cameras zoom in on the brief hugs and handshakes and conversations. Then they catch the quick exchange as Vanquished Player from Losing Team congratulates Joyous Player from Winning Team and says some variation of “Go on and win the championship.”
Most of such sentiments are rooted in old-fashioned sportsmanship, born of genuine well-wishes. And sure, some of it might be a tad self-soothing, born of the hope that if you’ve got to lose, it’s better to lose to the best. But every now and then, the scenes carry an extra dose of meaning.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Locally, the most famous version happened during the Bucks run to the 2021 NBA crown. Milwaukee had just won it’s epic seven-game battle royale against Brooklyn, surviving an otherworldly performance from Kevin Durant, thanks in no small part to Durant’s “big-ass foot.”
Giannis, you may know, grew up idolizing Durant. So when Durant embraced Giannis and told him, “Go get you one, all right? Every possession, go get you one,” you could imagine what it meant to Giannis. Or you could just watch Giannis tell the story himself, courtesy of his brother’s Thanalasys podcast.
Those were happier times for the Bucks, who have watched most of this year’s playoffs from home or whatever beach they happen to be visiting. But on the bright side, at least latest round of national fever dreams of Giannis demanding a trade has broken, cured by his comments in, of all places, Brazil.
And while we’re on that bright side, maybe it helps to know that when the Bucks were eliminated by the Pacers, they might have indeed lost to the best. Indiana enters tonight’s Game 4 with a 2-1 series lead on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It’s just the latest example of an uncanny trend. When your team beats Wisconsin’s pro sports teams in the playoffs, you might as well buy those tickets to the finals. Whether it’s the Bucks or the Packers, since 2008, 22 of the 32 teams to end their postseason runs have played for a championship.
Beat a Wisconsin sports team and theres a good chance you make the finals.
— DT (@DBucksFanT) June 1, 2025
Since 2008, 22 of 32 Wisconsin sports postseason losses (MLB, NFL, NBA) have come against the team which makes the World Series/Super Bowl/Finals that same season. pic.twitter.com/mjJHmUmj9L
Teams that beat the Brewers in that time frame have won five World Series, and teams to beat the Packers have won three Super Bowls. If the Pacers finish off the Thunder, meanwhile, they’ll become the first Bucks-vanquishing team to go get themselves one.
But the less said about Giannis-Haliburton postgame exchanges, the better.
