2021 saw a number of huge moments take place on the basketball court, although it could be argued that one player had some of the biggest moments in the calendar year.
Indeed, whilst many would have been looking out for the live basketball results and all of the stats to have happened in the NBA and various other competitions and leagues to have taken place all over the world, they would have notably come across Giannis Antetokounmpo’s name on a number of different occasions.
Why was the Greek NBA star amongst the headlines and what are the other major moments to have happened in basketball in 2021?
Giannis Antetokounmpo winning the NBA Finals for Milwaukee Bucks and 50-point tally
Antetokounmpo, otherwise known to the basketball world by his first name Giannis more commonly, had an incredible year for the Milwaukee Bucks, although that will not have been a surprise to many that continue to regularly follow the action in the United States as the “Greek Freak” has been a star for years.
However, 2021 saw him become a monster of a baller once again as he helped to deliver the NBA Championship to Milwaukee for the very first time since 1971. He made a number of impactful plays throughout the season and in the NBA Finals, whilst he also managed to go for 50 points in Game 6 of those Finals, as well.
Team USA triumphed at the Olympic Games
2021 saw the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games take centre stage in the summer, and whilst many would have been predicting Team USA to dominate the competition, they duly delivered.
Naturally, when a team could call upon the very best players from the best league competition in the world, many will not be surprised to see them completely obliterated any team that stands in its way, however Team USA certainly did not have the smoothest of tournaments to begin with.
In fact, they had lost their opening game to France 83-76 after a poor third-quarter cost them and the fact that they struggled ahead of the competition in their exhibition games suggested that they could have been facing a disaster.
However, they quickly turned things around and managed to steamroll past every nation that stood in their way of the gold medal, eventually beating France in the Final 87-82. Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Bam Adebayo were the only players to have started all six games played.
Gonzaga and UCLA play out one of the best college games ever
Going away from professional basketball, the match between Gonzaga and UCLA is one college match that will likely go down in history as one of the greatest in Final Four history.
Gonzaga would eventually go on to win a thrilling game that would end 93-90 in their favour in overtime after Jalen Suggs sunk a 37-foot winner to help keep his Zags team undefeated. This undefeated run would eventually come to an end against Baylor in the Championship Game, however the match is one that will be remembered for the rest of time.