The newly-built Deer District outside Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee became a premier location for diehard Bucks fans to celebrate the team's thrilling playoff run and first NBA championship in five decades.
And perhaps the Titletown atmosphere is somewhat of a culture shock to longtime Bucks radio play-by-play voice Ted Davis, who worked through the franchise's dark ages.
"I can remember times where I thought, 'Well, this team's going to have to leave,' because I didn't see how they were going to get an arena deal done, quite frankly," Davis told The DA Show on Wednesday. "But Herb Kohl -- who deserves a lot of credit as the previous owner -- he picked an ownership group that he was convinced would keep the team here, put a clause in the contract that motivated them to get a deal done...
"What they have outside in the Deer District is what every team hopes they can duplicate or emulate. Now, you've got to win -- there's part of that. But Milwaukee used to be NBA's Siberia. It just was. Guys didn't really want to go there. It's cold, you had an aging arena, a team that hadn't won in a long time. And now, you look at Milwaukee with Giannis, it was like LeBron in Cleveland."
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a historic 50 points in the Bucks' 105-98 win over the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday in Milwaukee. Following the game, the 26-year-old superstar was awarded the Finals MVP, and according to StatMuse, he became the first player in league history to record 50 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks in a Finals game.
"I think Giannis will make Milwaukee a destination for players who now want to chase a championship ring," Davis said. "And the beauty about what the Bucks have with Giannis is, he's 26 years old. The prime of an athlete's years are 26 to about 34. Giannis is this good, just now entering his prime."
Milwaukee also became just the fifth team in NBA history to rally from an 0-2 series deficit and win the Finals.
The entire NBA Finals conversation between Davis and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
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