Milwaukee Bucks

In December of 2022, a full season before he would first don the Milwaukee Bucks’ white-and-green threads, Damian Lillard was asked, on multiple occasions, which player he would select to join him in a championship pursuit. It’s likely that in picking Giannis Antetokounmpo, the eight-time All-Star envisioned a game in mind quite like what happened against the Dallas Mavericks on February 3, 2024. Before the future Hall of Fame pairing could even hit their stride, the soon-to-be NBA Finals representatives had run off a 25-point lead, giving the Bucks just a 3.2 percent victory probability midway through the second quarter. Within an eye’s blink, Milwaukee had powered back, taking a double-digit lead of their own in one of the great moments of their once-promising 2023-24 season. The duo combined to shoot an unheard of 30-of-39, with Antetokounmpo recording a 48-point, 10-rebound, six-assist, five-steal gem on 20-of-28 shooting, and Lillard electrifying the floor as the sidekick through a 30-point, eight-assist game, missing just a single shot. Just months removed from recording a 26-point comeback, the Bucks put their perseverance on display once more, moving to 17 games above .500 and reasonably within position for their title chase.