Eight Reasons to Actually get Excited About these NBA Finals

In an NBA season that has been singularly unique, these Finals are no different. Instead of the typical group of superstars, these Finals feature fresh blood with two teams trying to break through and finally grab a long-elusive title. Unfortunately, this has come at the expense of the health of some of the top players in the league. This has caused a lot of fans to bemoan what is perceived as a lackluster Finals matchup, and this series has not necessarily received the typical hype. That being said, this is still a fascinating matchup and there is still cause to be intrigued by this Suns-Bucks matchup. Without further ado, here are eight reasons to actually get excited about these Finals.

1. There is a Lot on the Line Historically

At first glance, this probably doesn’t seem like much insight. After all, it is an NBA Finals, which should seem important on its own. But what makes this series so fascinating is that while it may not inform the coming years as much as we are used to from a Finals series, this series will have more of an effect on how we discuss this era of basketball 20 years from now than what is typical. We all know the biggest reason for this is that this will likely be Chris Paul’s best chance at a title, and adding a ring to his resume would fundamentally alter his standing in NBA History and the way we remember his career. But beyond that, there are a number of fascinating historical dominos for both sides. These Finals could also decide the way we remember this era of Giannis’ Bucks. While reaching the Finals has certainly been a great accomplishment, the truth of the matter is this Milwaukee squad has done very little to answer any of the questions the basketball world had about their ability to truly perform at the highest level. They squeaked by a severely depleted Nets despite being almost unwatchable on offense at certain points, while the same could be said for parts of their series against Atlanta before Trae Young got hurt. And while none of that takes away from Milwaukee’s accomplishment of getting to the Finals, it does little to inspire belief that they could come out of a presumed healthier Eastern Conference in the coming years. However, none of that would matter from a historical perspective if the Bucks were to snatch this title. Giannis would already have his ring, while Chris Paul would likely cement himself as the starting Point Guard on the “Greatest Players of all Time without a Ring” team. If Giannis is unable to take advantage of this opportunity he might wind up as a veteran in Chris Paul’s position before he knows it- with a decision to make over whether he can truly win in Milwaukee.

2. These Fan Bases Have Been Waiting a Long Time for This

In a league that is dominated by big market teams that attract superstars, it is really hard for the rank and file teams to truly build title contenders. There are too many teams who have gone through extended periods of suffering for there to be true curses in the NBA that stand out. That being said, the Bucks and Suns have had more near-misses than most teams in the league. Following their 1971 title, the Bucks got back to the Finals in 1974, only to lose a Game 7 at home to an aging Celtics team, before Kareem forced his way out a year later. This was followed by decades of heartbreaking losses from groups led by Sidney Moncrief and Ray Allen, before the shortcomings of Giannis’ teams the past couple of years. Meanwhile, the Suns might be the most continuously relevant team in NBA History to never win a title. The group in the 1990s led by Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson were one of the best teams to be robbed of a title by Michael Jordan, while flukey incidents such as a Joe Johnson broken eye socket, a ridiculous Amar’e Stoudemire suspension, and a Ron Artest putback off an airball robbed Steve Nash’s Suns from ever making the Finals. And all of this is before you mention their heartbreaking loss in the 1976 Finals to the Celtics, punctuated by their brutal triple-overtime Game 5 defeat in one of the greatest games in NBA History. With all of the shortcomings of these two franchises, the fans have remained loyal while still consistently showing up to create some of the best atmospheres in basketball. It will be refreshing to see two starved fanbases in a Finals series instead of the same few groups we’ve gotten used to seeing this time of year. I could think of few better ways for fans to finally come back to stadiums than to see the criminally underrated fan bases of Milwaukee and Phoenix finally get to see their teams try to win a title.

3. The Neal Walk Revenge Factor

Let’s take a quick trip back to the summer of 1969. It was quite a time in America as the Vietnam War was raging on, while back at home people were consumed by Woodstock, the Miracle Mets, and Bryan Adams getting his first real six-string. It would be understandable if not many people were paying attention to a coin flip between two Professional Basketball teams from Milwaukee and Phoenix, fresh off of disappointing inaugural seasons. However, this just happened to be an unusually important coin flip as the winner was to be awarded the number one pick in the upcoming Draft, with the top prize being Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabaar), who came into the league as the most dominant player in college history and went on to become the NBA’s career leader in total points. The Bucks won the coin toss and the rest was history as just two years later they would become NBA champions, while the Suns were left with the number two pick. Their consolation prize? Neal Walk, a Center out of Florida who looked more like the caveman from the Geico commercials than an NBA player. Needless to say, the Neal Walk era was not a fruitful one in Phoenix, and they spent their days rueing the missed opportunity with Kareem, especially considering they were otherwise building a good foundation. Put Kareem on the group headlined by Paul Westphal that nearly beat the Celtics in the 1976 NBA Finals, and they probably win a title or three. What better way for the Suns to finally win a title than by beating the team that ruined their chances of becoming a dynasty from the very beg- what’s that, you don’t want to hear any more about Neal Walk? Fine. So I’ll just finish by telling you that the man drafted just one spot after Kareem Abdul-Jabaar was Jewish and we’ll leave it at that.

4. PJ Tucker and Jae Crowder Will Start a Fight at Some Point

This is less analysis and more a statement of fact. My bet is on the second quarter of Game Three.

5. The Budenholzer Conundrum

If the Bucks lose this series, they will have to make a decision when it comes to Head Coach Mike Budenholzer. The truth is that Coach Bud has gotten to the Finals almost by accident, with the Bucks winning despite his inability to make even the smallest of adjustments against the Nets, seemingly content with a virtually unwatchable fourth-quarter offense while not thinking to put his best perimeter defender on Kevin Durant. This is not a new phenomenon, as Budenholzer has arguably been the biggest reason for the Bucks’ past playoff failures. The reality is that the Milwaukee front office should have seen more than enough at this point to make the decision to fire Budenholzer, something which would undoubtedly boost their title chances going forward. At the same time, if Giannis comes back the Bucks will have a legitimate chance to win this thing, in which case there is simply no way they can let Budenholzer go. This brings up an interesting paradox for the Bucks, one which is rarely seen in sports, in which winning a title might actually hurt the Bucks going forward. Now, this is not to state that it would be in the Bucks’ best interest to lose- they are in the NBA Finals, and any time you have a chance to win a title you of course have to do all you can to win it. It’s simply to say that winning would put the Bucks in a situation going forward where they would have to knowingly proceed with a coach that does not give them the best chance to win. This once again goes back to the overarching theme of this series. This will be a Finals that is firmly entrenched in this current moment, one which is going to affect how we remember this era of basketball, without necessarily affecting the era itself.

6. Aaron Rodgers is a Bucks Minority Owner

In truth, this wouldn’t be that interesting if Rodgers wasn’t in the middle of a feud with the Packers. Given how he seems to have been living freely without caring what anyone thinks, I would not put it past Rodgers to shamelessly show up to the Bucks home games, a situation that would be ripe for unintentional comedy. What’s more, it would be genuinely interesting to see how the fans would react to seeing Rodgers. It would be our first true indication of how the Packers fan base feels about the trade request.

7. The Plumlee’s have had a Combined Three Stints for These Teams

Okay so this one might be for me, but the truth is the Plumlees’ career paths have been intrinsically tied with these two franchises. In fact, Miles set career highs in both points and rebounds in Phoenix, before being traded to Milwaukee, a move which was immediately followed by Giannis’ first playoff appearance. Meanwhile, as soon as Marshall became a Buck Khris Middleton suddenly became a 20 PPG scorer. Coincidence? I think not.

8. Everyone is Desperate

If we’re being frank with ourselves, the Suns and Bucks are not the types of teams we are used to seeing in the Finals. In an era that has been full of some of the greatest teams ever assembled, these are two very good but fundamentally flawed teams, who have been on the receiving end of a number of gifts throughout the playoffs. The truth is that these are probably not the two best teams and that neither of them will be the favorites to win their conference coming into next year. Both teams know this, something which will only ratchet up the intensity level in the Finals. This is not to say that they’re not self-confident- both of them deserve to be here, and in order to win a title you have to believe that you are the best. But they also understand that given the way these Playoffs played out, this will be their best chance to win a title. This makes both teams even hungrier and creates a sense of desperation that you don’t always see in the Finals. A similar thing happened in football this year. The Buccaneers won their first two playoff games by being given almost a free pass to the Conference Championship by playing a losing team with a fourth-string-Quarterback and a 41-year-old who couldn’t throw the ball farther than 15 yards. After those first two games, they looked across at the AFC and saw an increasingly beat-up Chiefs and they realized that while they had no way of knowing whether this was going to be their best team with this group, this was going to be their best acne to win a Super Bowl. Suddenly, they went from a team competing for a title to a team that viewed it as a statement of fact that they were going to do whatever it took to grab the Lombardi. Beyond anything else, the Bucs won this year because they wanted it more than anyone else, and played with a desperation that we’re not typically used to seeing. A similar switch was seemingly flipped for both of these teams in their closeout games in the Conference Finals. There reached a point in the second half of both games 6’s where Chris Paul and Khris Middleton respectively decided “there’s no fucking way we’re losing this game,” and simply willed their teams to victory. These are now two teams without a single player who has won a title, playing in front of fans who have waited their whole lives for this moment. The truth is that even though this series may be lacking in star power, it will make it up with an incredible basketball feel. At the end of the day, we have an NBA Finals featuring two truly desperate teams, who will be playing their hearts out in front of incredible fans, the vast majority of whom have never seen their team win a title. What more could you ask for?