The 50-year dry spell explains the explosion of noise inside Fiserv Forum when the Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA championship yet again.
The Bucks were fairly quick to win their first championship after their inception in 1968. They won the franchise’s first championship in 1971.
Fast forward to today, the Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns, 105-98, in Game 6 of the NBA Finals and won the series, four games to two. After falling behind 0-2, the Bucks won four games straight in the best-of-seven series.
Game highlights
Having the home-court advantage, the Bucks were led to victory by their young star and two-time league’s most valuable player (MVP), Giannis Antetokounmpo. He scored nearly half of his team’s points. Antetokounmpo collected over 14 rebounds and five blocked shots.
This was the third game in the series with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds from Antetokounmpo. He shot close to 16 out of 25 from the field, he even made unbelievable 17-of-19 free throws.
Antetokounmpo was awarded the Bill Russel Finals MVP trophy for his defensive dominance. He received his award to the chants of “MVP”.
What they take home
With that said and done, winning a championship isn’t cheap! While the exact amount of money set aside for the NBA champions isn’t fixed, we know for sure that the Milwaukee Bucks’ certainly won’t go home empty-handed. There’s always a ring, a bonus, and more.
The NBA championship game has no guaranteed set of money awarded to each player. However, each receives money as they advance in the NBA playoffs.
The NBA creates a pool prize. It is a pool of cash that is given out to players throughout the tournament. It is distributed to the teams as they progress through the playoffs. The winning team doesn’t take home the full amount but they win an extra bonus. And this year’s National Basketball Association pool prize amounted to $22 million.
What the Bucks are worth
The Bucks are valued at $1.625 billion currently. Now that they’ve earned their way into the NBA Finals and won, it is likely that the number will keep growing. The team is loaded with talent. Antetokounmpo has been locked in for five years, he signed his extension with Milwaukee Bucks for $228 million. He signed the deal after he won two straight MVPs. He’s still only 26 years old.
What the ring is worth
Talk to Michael Jordan about how much an NBA championship ring is worth, and he will tell you it’s “priceless”. There’s real cash involved in getting one, don’t be mistaken. Oh yeah—lots of it!
The league rewards players with championship rings. The players keep it dear to them as a valuable possession after winning the championship.
However, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, a former player won his first ring with the Milwaukee Bucks. This was back in 1970-72 when the Bucks surprised many by overcoming the Los Angeles Lagers to win the Western Conference with a 4-1 series win. The former Bucks center later auctioned his ring for charity. His 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks Championship Ring (Lew Alcindor) sold for $153,437.
