The Milwaukee Bucks might have had a giant night time in Las Vegas on Tuesday, however they nonetheless weren’t popping bottles.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers advised me after speaking with Darvin Ham and his expertise with Lakers final season, they selected to not rejoice The Cup championship with dousing and ingesting of champagne. Need to concentrate on the rest of the season. pic.twitter.com/CQ0J0aoeWz
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) December 18, 2024
After defeating the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder within the NBA Cup Last, the Bucks left their champagne untouched. The locker room was coated in protecting plastic, however the security goggles remained unused, together with the promotional Michelob Extremely. The NBA Cup was a aim for the Bucks, nevertheless it wasn’t the aim. That is an NBA title.
Doc Rivers and his lead assistant Darvin Ham determined that the Bucks weren’t going to have a celebration stuffed with champagne spraying regardless of successful the in-season match and incomes $500K every. Maybe they determined that gamers might purchase and spray champagne on their very own time after getting such a prize.
Or Ham remembered his expertise after teaching the Los Angeles Lakers to an NBC Cup win final season, which LeBron James and his teammates adopted up with an exuberant, champagne-soaked social gathering.
LeBron popping champagne within the Lakers’ locker room submit championship W pic.twitter.com/UmVRID7Dhy
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 10, 2023
After the Lakers did it up in Las Vegas, they misplaced their subsequent sport and 5 of their subsequent six. Once they received the Cup, the Lakers had been 14-9. 4 weeks later, they had been 17-19 after a 3-10 stretch.
Ham might or might not assume the celebration was what brought about the Lakers’ droop. Los Angeles completed the season in eighth place with a 47-35 document and needed to win a play-in sport to succeed in the playoffs, the place they misplaced to the Denver Nuggets in 5 video games, and Ham misplaced his job.
The Bucks had the other expertise after they misplaced within the NBA Cup semifinal final season and promptly rattled off a seven-game successful streak — although their late meltdown in that semifinal was an element within the staff firing Adrian Griffin and changing him with Rivers six weeks later.
However Rivers has additionally had success utilizing delayed gratification as a motivational tactic. Whereas teaching the Boston Celtics in 2010, Rivers demanded $100 from each participant and staff official earlier than a highway sport in Los Angeles.
In keeping with Kevin Garnett, Rivers put the gathered cash within the ceiling of the Staples Middle locker room and advised his staff, “We’re coming again to get that cash…We’ll get again right here, we’ll beat this staff, and we’ll get our second ring in right here.”
The Celtics did get again to the NBA Finals, however they fell wanting their second ring after shedding Sport 7.
Now, Rivers hopes that ready conjures up the Bucks to work for the last word champagne celebration after an NBA Finals win. It’d even be a rematch towards the Thunder. But when Rivers desires to offer some additional motivation, he can disguise cash when the Bucks go to the Thunder in Oklahoma Metropolis on Feb. 3.
