Several fans fixated on one big winner after the Milwaukee Bucks’ clean sweep of the 2024 NBA Cup. No, it was not Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak was named NBA Cup MVP and led his team to a resounding 97-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Tuesday’s championship game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. Antetokounmpo had a monstrous stat line of 26 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists on 10/19 shooting from the field. He also had 2 steals and 3 blocks to seal the in-season tournament title for Milwaukee.
But some fans half-jokingly credited Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham for leading the Bucks to victory. Ham was the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coach last season when they similarly swept the first-ever NBA Cup.
Darvin Ham: 2-time NBA Cup champion 🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/mHiqVrTANa
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 18, 2024
With Ham now a combined 14-0 in the NBA Cup, social media was filled with jokes about Ham being the Phil Jackson or Red Auerbach of the early-season event.
Darvin ham when it comes to the nba cup tournament pic.twitter.com/vNzjftSFyU
— OKC enthusiasts (@okcenthusiasts) December 18, 2024
Taurean Prince and Darvin Ham in the NBA Cup pic.twitter.com/gIdZnehvsR
— Subscribe to the You Know Ball Patreon (@TrillBroDude) December 18, 2024
Me telling my kids about NBA Cup Darvin Ham pic.twitter.com/y2EJIo0sWU
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) December 18, 2024
Darvin Ham when it’s time to coach an IST game
— TatumsWrld (@wrldoftatum) December 18, 2024
While fans made fun of Ham for finding success in the NBA’s fledgling tournament, it’s still arguably quite an accomplishment. The Bucks on Tuesday completely outclassed the Thunder, the favorites to emerge out of the Western Conference this season.
Milwaukee has managed to shrug off a brutal 2-8 start to the season. The Bucks have lost just thrice over its last 15 regular season games to improve to 14-11.
