The Milwaukee Bucks clenched a historic victory over the Phoenix Suns yesterday (July 20) winning their first NBA Championship in 50 years. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the game putting up 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots with a final score of 105-98.
According to the NBA Twitter account, Antetokounmpo is the first player to make at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a Finals game since 1974, when blocks were first recorded. The Athens, Greece native also became the seventh player to make at least 50 points in the championship round. Phoenix’s Chris Paul, meanwhile, led the Suns with 26 points.
After the victory, Antetokounmpo posted a video of himself ordering celebratory 50-piece at Chick-fil-A. According to Forbes, the 26-year-old is now positioned for even more lucrative endorsement deals adding on to his already $25 million annual earnings from Nike, JBL, Budweiser and more. Due to his “success and international appeal,” the outlet writes, Antetokounmpo’s endorsement deals could climb to as high as $40 million.
Of course, Twitter users had a lot to say about the Bucks’ historic win with several hilarious tweets about Antetokounmpo’s victory. Jeff Johnson, producer of the “Bleacher Report,” tweeted the MVP’s post-game press conference to the tune of Nas’ scorching 2001 diss track, “Ether.”
“Giannis got Ether in his bag,” he wrote.
At 10 a.m. CDT Wednesday morning (July 21), Antetokounmpo shared another video of himself celebrating in the car with the Championship trophy.
“I gotta return the trophy back to the team. I stole it. I stole the trophy from the organization, they’re looking for it,” he joked.
Besides celebrating with Antetokounmpo, other fans on Twitter reflected on his vision for the Bucks and applauded him for seeing it through. In 2014, he wrote on Twitter that he would “never leave” the Bucks or the city of Milwaukee until he helped build the team to a “championship level.”
“Nothing but respect for this kid. Stayed home and delivered the hardware,” former New England Patriots player Julian Edelman tweeted. “Congrats.”
See more Twitter reactions to Antetokounmpo and the Bucks’ win below.