Ring night and banner unveiling at Fiserv Forum

The Milwaukee Bucks received their championship rings and unveiled the banner of the franchise’s first title in 50 years before Tuesday’s season opener against the Brooklyn Nets.

“Milwaukee, we did it,” said the Bucks forward. Khris middleton to the crowd at the Fiserv Forum. “We finally did it.”

The NBA hadn’t started a season with an opening night banner-raising ceremony in two years. With no fans allowed at the Staples Center at the start of last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Los Angeles Lakers waited until May to unveil their banner.

However, Milwaukee fans have waited since 1971 for another NBA championship. So a sold-out crowd gathered inside the arena and a stage was set up outside in the Deer District for another chance to commemorate the Bucks before a new season began.

“It’s a great night,” said the Bucks coach, Mike budenholzer, before the match. “It symbolizes or means something special that the team has accomplished. We know we will cherish it for the rest of our lives.”

Although Giannis Antetokounmpo and Middleton had an opinion on the design of the championship ring before Tuesday night, the players had not seen the rings before the ceremony began. Antetokounmpo joked earlier in the week that his only entry was that he wanted a bigger ring than the one his brother, Kostas, won with the Lakers last season.

And the Bucks’ championship ring is big.

It has 360 diamonds on the top, 16 emerald-shaped diamonds on the left side, and 16 emerald-shaped diamonds on the right side. The ring has the phrase “Fear the Deer” on one side along with the player’s name and jersey number. On the other side were the words “Bucks in 6”, the rallying cry adopted by fans during the Finals race. There’s even a removable top with a QR code underneath that, when scanned, plays featured videos of the season.

“For Milwaukee, the beginning of many, many championships,” Bucks owner Marc Lasry told the crowd during the ceremony.

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