Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of one. There is no one else like him. Nobody can match his freakiness of size, athleticism, tenacity and will to win. Offensively he can go around you, through you or over you to get the ball in the hoop, while also being more than happy to block any shot you can throw at him around the rim at the other end of the court.

But perhaps his most endearing trait, as he loosely quoted rapper Kendrick Lamar in a tweet four years ago, is the Milwaukee Bucks star has loyalty inside his DNA. That’s rare in this era of the NBA where the best players often come together to form teams that they believe will make it easier to win an NBA title. But that doesn’t fit the personality of the 26-year-old from Greece. He doesn’t do things the easy way.

Since being drafted eight years ago as a skinny 195-pound mystery, Antetokounmpo worked tirelessly to improve himself and his game. That journey is what made Tuesday night even more special when he led the only team he’s ever played for to its first NBA title in 50 years with a 105-98 win over Phoenix to take the series 4-2.

“It’s easy to go somewhere and go win a championship with somebody else,” Antetokounmpo said while clutching the Larry O’Brien Trophy and his Finals MVP award. “It’s easy. I could go to a super team and just do my part and win a championship.

“But this is the hard way to do it and this is the way to do it and we did it.”

And he did it in style, going off for 50 points, including 33 after halftime, a little more than two weeks since suffering what appeared to be a devastating knee injury. It was a performance for the ages and it came in the biggest moment on the biggest stage possible in the sport of basketball. While other stars over the last 15 years had to leave the city they began their careers in (LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett, Chris Bosh, Kevin Love, etc.) to get that elusive championship ring, Antetokounmpo didn’t back down from the challenge of doing it in a place where very few ever thought it would be possible.

“I couldn’t leave,” Antetokounmpo said of signing the supermax extension late last year that tied him to Milwaukee for five more years. “There was a job that had to be finished.

“Coming back, I was like, this is my city. They trust me. They believe in me. They believe in us.”

Antetokounmpo didn’t do it alone, for sure. You don’t go from peddling sun glasses in Athens as a teenager to make ends meet to being a two-time MVP and now an NBA champion by yourself. His tight-knit family leaned on each other through the good (getting drafted, being an All-Star, being an MVP, becoming a dad) and the bad (losing his father in 2017). Inside the Bucks organization he had the support of former general manager John Hammond, who took the risk of selecting him with pick No. 15 in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft. Antetokounmpo also credited former coach Jason Kidd for pushing him to develop his game and current coach Mike Budenholzer for getting him to trust the team around him.

“I can be stubborn sometimes. I can disconnect myself from the world because I want this so bad,” Antetokounmpo said. “I wanted this so bad, and I was able to get it. That’s why I was tearing up (after the game). But people helped me to be in this position. I didn’t do it by myself. Every freaking day, people helped me.”

It came on the court from Khris Middleton, the only other player still around from Antetokounmpo’s rookie year, as the two grew together, playing a role in not only making the Bucks relevant in the state again but also helping to revitalize a downtown area that saw 65,000 flock to the streets and plaza surrounding Fiserv Forum as Game 6 played out in front of 17,000 inside the arena.

“We formed a bond, a brotherhood since that first year we’ve been together,” Middleton said. “We struggled. We struggled together. But we both saw in each other there was no give-up. It was all motivation to be better and not be embarrassed. Year after year we challenged each other to be better.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing on the basketball front to get to this point. That 15-win season in Antetokounmpo’s and Middleton’s first year, along with blowing a 2-0 lead in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals and a flameout in the second round of the 2020 playoffs, had people questioning whether Antetokounmpo and Middleton would ever be able to shed the idea they were just a good regular-season team and a flawed one come playoff time. The duo didn’t pay attention to that noise. Instead, they put in the work to force those people to eat their words.

“This should make every person, every kid, anybody around the world believe in their dreams,” Antetokounmpo said. “No matter whatever you feel when you’re down, when you don’t think it’s going to happen for you or you might not make it in your career — might be basketball, might be anything — just believe on what you’re doing and keep working. Don’t let nobody tell you what you can be and what you cannot do. People told me I cannot make free throws. I made my free throws tonight (17-for-19) and I’m a freaking champion. I made them when I’m supposed to make them.”

Or more accurately, he didn’t wilt under the spotlight. He didn’t worry about what happened in the past, including missing two key free throws in Game 5. In the most important game of his life, he played at a higher level than anyone else on the court and sent an entire city and state into a frenzy. In doing so, he completed a promise he made seven years ago.

I'll never leave the team and the city of Milwaukee till we build the team to a championship level team..

— Giannis Ugo Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) July 17, 2014

Antetokounmpo will leave the team and city at some point. The hope is it won’t be for a very long time. But when it does happen he will exit as an icon in the history of Wisconsin sports. His name is now etched along side the likes of Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Robin Yount, Hank Aaron, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. He’s now royalty and nothing will ever change that after what occurred Tuesday night.

“Eight years ago, eight and a half years ago, when I came to the league, I didn’t know where my next meal would come from,” Antetokounmpo said. “My mom was selling stuff in the street. Now I’m here sitting at the top of the top. I’m extremely blessed. I’m extremely blessed. If I never have a chance to sit on this table ever again, I’m fine with it. I’m fine with it. I hope this can give everybody around the world hope. I want them to believe in their dreams.”