The Forgotten Crown, the mystery of the "gold content" behind the Bucks Championship

When the goddess of luck is more dazzling than strength, the light of the championship trophy is covered with dust.

The champion of "good time and place": the top of the 2021 Bucks' championship path is always shrouded in the shadow of their opponent's core injuries. In the second round against the Nets, Harden and Irving only played 4 games in total, and the Bucks narrowly won with only 4 points in the tiebreak battle; facing the Hawks in the East Finals, Trae Young missed the key two games due to injury; in the finals, two of the core trio are "recruits" in the playoffs. The Bucks themselves only lost the rotation player Divinchenzo, and by contrast, "luck" became an unignorable footnote.

What's more important is the "disguised" of regular season data: the Bucks' winning rate against Western Conference teams is only 53.3% (16 wins and 14 losses), setting the worst record for championships in the past 25 years, even lower than the Warriors that season. This data confirms the outside world's doubts about the Bucks' record under the "strong west and weak east" pattern - their championship seems to be born in an "imbalanced" system.

The foundation of hollowed out: how management burys the championship foundation

The fall of the Bucks began with a big bet: exchanged with the defensive core Holiday for Lillard. This operation completely tore the team's offensive and defensive system. Lillard and Beasley formed the "factoriest backcourt defensive combination in the league", forcing Antetokounmpo to bear more pressure for assisting defense; the team's defensive efficiency plummeted from fourth place in the league to 19th place, and losing Holiday is equivalent to taking away the defensive backbone; Lillard's 33% maximum salary contract (US$170 million for three years) and Middleton's premium is about (95 million for three years), completely locking in salary space.

The management team has made many tricks, and three coaches have to be replaced in four years, and they have to pay the salary of Budenholzer, Griffin and Rivers at the same time; they overdraw the first round picks in the next six years and lose the bargaining chips. When a team has neither young power nor tactical depth, the so-called "window of championship" becomes ironic.

Antes' double dilemma: the tear between loyal character and champion ambition

After winning the championship, Antes's declaration of "Ten Championships in a group are not as good as one of my championships" once nailed Durant to the shameful pillar of "utilitarian basketball". However, when the Bucks were eliminated in the first round for three consecutive years (2023-2025), his pride collapsed quickly, and he defeated the Pacers 1-4 in the first round in 2025. Antetokounmpo averaged 34.8+14.5 per game and was still unable to make the situation. Lillard's Achilles tendon was reimbursed, and his teammates only scored 12 points in total. He publicly apologized to Durant, admitting that he "understood James's way of success" - stars should take the initiative in destiny.

From ridicule to being in a group to being able to leave the team voluntarily, Antetokounmpo's struggle reveals the cruel reality of the NBA: loyal narratives are vulnerable to the utilitarianism of the champion 8. The fans' "double standards" evaluation is even more ironic: in the same faced with difficulties, Durant was denounced to "submit his enemy", but Antetokounmpo gained tolerance because of "persistence" - this tolerance just diluted the "tragic hero" color of his championship.

Cup champion and Champagne Silence: Unsolved Problems under the Illusion of Recovery

The 2024 NBA Cup champion is like a shot of a heart-warming agent: Antetokounmpo scored 26+19+10 in the final, Lillard broke through the 10th in the efficiency league. But the team was unpredictable and refused to squirt champagne after winning the championship. Coach Rivers bluntly stated that his goal was in June. This detail exposed the Bucks' soberness, and the value of the seven consecutive cup wins is still questioned - the final opponent Thunder made 4 of 29 three-pointers (13.8% shooting percentage), and when the Lakers won the championship last year, they were criticized for "avoiding the strong team." The deeper crisis is not resolved, Middleton aging (33 years old), Lopez (36 years old) has declined athletic ability; Rivers' "reversed curse" and on-the-spot shortcomings; the average age of the core lineup is 32 years old, but there is no first-round pick to strengthen. When the "future" becomes a luxury, the short-lived cup glory is nothing more than a painkiller to delay judgment.

Why is the champion forgotten by time silent? The champion of the

The Bucks' champion was never officially "deprived", but gradually became a vague mark in the history of the league - it was born by accident, died of short-sightedness, and trapped in character design. When Antetokounmpo may leave the team in the summer of 2025, the 2021 ring will completely become a satire. A team that could have established a dynasty will eventually become a specimen of the "gold content" debate due to the management's gamble and the internal friction of luck dividends.

Perhaps silence itself is the answer: in the arena where success and defeated, victory that is not "pure" enough and collapse that is not "complete" enough can hardly escape the forgotten fate.