Dallas Mavericks veteran Markieff Morris claims that the Milwaukee Bucks should’ve never won the 2020-21 NBA championship if the injury bug did not bite the Brooklyn Nets.
Morris pointed to the incident involving Giannis Antetokounmpo and his current Dallas Mavericks teammate, Kyrie Irving, as the turning point of the series.
Credit: Getty Images
“If Giannis ain’t put his foot under [Irving], they would’ve had a championship,” said Morris, who was with the Los Angeles Lakers at the time. “Milwaukee would still be without a championship.”
“I know so. They were going to get swept. They know that. You can ask anybody on their team,” he added via Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.
Credit: Getty Images
Kyrie Irving landed awkwardly on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot midway through the second quarter of their 107-96 Game 4 loss against the Milwaukee Bucks. After injuring his ankle, the eight-time NBA All-Star never played for the rest of the series.
Before the injury, the Brooklyn Nets were up 2-0 against the Milwaukee Bucks, but the latter came back to win in Game 7. After the said series, the Milwaukee Bucks won their first title in five decades after beating the Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns in the succeeding rounds.
The Brooklyn Nets have never been the same since then
The Brooklyn Nets eventually broke up the star trio of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden because they didn’t win an NBA championship together.
The team traded James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons, while Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were moved to the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks, respectively.
The move to the Dallas Mavericks has worked out so far for Kyrie Irving, as he is back in the NBA Finals with Luka Doncic as his running mate, although they are currently down 0-2 against the Boston Celtics.
“He’s in a place where he feels like he can flourish. Everybody is on the same page. There’s no hidden agendas,” Morris said about Irving. He’s in his 13th year. And I can speak to that. I’m in my 13th year, too, and you want to be somewhere people are going to love you and it’s more than just a business. End your career somewhere comfortable.”
