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Bucks’ Bobby Portis takes a shot at the Lakers after winning NBA Cup

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Bucks’ Bobby Portis takes a shot at the Lakers after winning NBA Cup

For decades, the Los Angeles Lakers have been perceived as Hollywood’s team. They have had a reputation (whether it’s true or not) for embodying the qualities of show business that are mocked or reviled across the nation. According to critics and haters, the Lakers are soft, self-centered, self-entitled, overly dramatic spoiled brats who hype themselves up at every chance and wilt under the slightest bit of pressure.

Los Angeles won the inaugural NBA Cup a year ago and had a ball afterward, celebrating with champagne as if it had won the actual NBA championship. Sure enough, it bombed afterward, just like a movie that has a huge budget and a massive marketing campaign but fails to bring in the big bucks. The Lakers lost 12 of their next 18 games, including a number of contests to seemingly inferior teams, and although they played very well during the second half of the season, they had dug themselves too deep a hole.

This year’s Emirates NBA Cup winners are the Milwaukee Bucks, a team that has a transcendent superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo but is otherwise as attractive or tantalizing as a college course in trigonometry. Milwaukee’s celebration after winning was muted, and when forward Bobby Portis was asked to compare the Bucks to the Lakers, he threw shade at LeBron James and crew.

Via The Athletic:

“We’re not Hollywood,” he told The Athletic when asked about the Lakers comparison. “We have hard-working guys (who are) selfless and who give themselves up for the betterment of the team. It’s not about the points you score. It’s all about winning, being connected. Our group is different from their group. We’re just different in that regard of selfless guys that give themselves up. You can’t really compare the two teams — not at all.

“The NBA puts a big tournament in front of you, and you go win that [expletive]. It’s as simple as that. They put something in front of you. You set a goal. You chop wood every day. Carry water. And eventually, you get here and you get a medal around your neck. … And then you get back to work on Thursday, which is what we signed up for. It’s part of the gig.”

Many have mocked the Lakers for not only celebrating hard after their NBA Cup win but also for hanging a banner to commemorate it, although the league may have pressured them a bit to do the latter. There has even been speculation that they suffered from a hangover after winning the tournament.

Perhaps the Bucks sent a message, rightfully so, that while it is worth it to win the Emirates NBA Cup, it isn’t exactly equivalent to a championship — not even close.

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