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“Want Rachel Nichols to be a part of the Bucks championship”: Giannis hands the Larry O’Brien trophy to the ESPN analyst following Finals win over Chris Paul and Suns

Samir Mehdi
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“Want Rachel Nichols to be a part of the Bucks championship”: Giannis hands the Larry O’Brien trophy to the ESPN analyst following Finals win over Chris Paul and Suns

Giannis hands the Larry O’Brien trophy over to Rachel Nichols as he says to her that he wants her to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks championship. 

Giannis did good on his promise of a building a championship culture in Milwaukee and did so less than a year after signing his historic supermax contract extension. The Bucks bested Chris Paul and the Suns in 6 games and accomplished something that hasn’t been done in over 15 years: win four straight games after being down 0-2 in the Finals. 

With Giannis winning a chip and also being named the 2021 Finals MVP, his resume is looking as complete as a resume could be. Rachel Nichols took to the NBA court post-Game 6 to talk to the Bucks on how they felt after winning a title after 50 years as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson were the last to be showered with confetti in Milwaukee.

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Guys like Bobby Portis and Jrue Holiday gave Rachel Nichols some great content on whether they would return to Milwaukee come 2021-22 but Giannis is the one who made the ESPN analyst’s day. 

Rachel Nichols gets handed the championship trophy by Giannis. 

A meme concerning Giannis acting like he doesn’t know where Rachel Nichols is during a postgame presser made rounds all over the internet a week or two ago. Many believed he was taking shots at the ESPN analyst for comments that incited the Maria Taylor situation but this clearly wasn’t the case as he’s seen in high spirits around her, even handing her the Larry O’Brien trophy.

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Fans online have speculated that the ‘Greek Freak’ is purposefully aligning himself with Rachel Nichols due to the tiff he had with Malika Andrews during the 2019 NBA Playoffs. It was here where Andrews put up an article suggesting that the Bucks superstar had one foot out the door after the Raptors beat them in the ECF. 

This however, is a stretch as it doesn’t seem likely that Giannis would keep in mind something that happened two years ago on the biggest day of his NBA career. 

About the author

Samir Mehdi

Samir Mehdi

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Samir Mehdi is a senior strategist for the NBA division at The Sportsrush. Ever since he was 13 years old, he’s been obsessed with the game of basketball. From watching Kobe Bryant’s highlights on YouTube to now, analyzing and breaking down every single game on League Pass, Samir’s passion for the game is unwavering. He's a complete basketball junkie who not only breaks down current games but also keenly watches ones from the 60s’ and 70s’ while also reading comprehensive books on the history of the league. Samir’s life revolves around basketball and he hopes that shows in his work. Aside from work, he loves to spend time in the gym and with his friends at social gatherings.

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