Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the highest-stakes gamble in the NBA - ESPN

LONG BEFORE GAME 6 and quite possibly the best 50-piece chicken nugget celebration in recorded history, before his dad jokes became a bobblehead and his life story became a feature film, Giannis Antetokounmpo placed a call on his drive home from work that would change the NBA.

For months, he had agonized over whether to extend his contract and commit the next five years of his life and career to the Milwaukee Bucks. A dispiriting second-round playoff loss to the Miami Heat in September 2020 had left a bad taste in everyone's mouth after the Bucks had amassed the best record in the league and Antetokounmpo had won a second straight MVP award.

«That summer, I was calling people that were in my position in the past,» Antetokounmpo tells ESPN. «I was like, 'What do I do? Do you stay? Do you not stay? Do you stay? Do you not stay?' And everybody was basically telling me not to stay.»

Four weeks earlier, the Bucks had traded three future first-round draft picks to the New Orleans Pelicans for Jrue Holiday. Still, they'd need to break through in an Eastern Conference loaded with potential superteams in the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics.

«But,» Antetokounmpo continues, «my gut said, 'No. I'm here. They gave me an opportunity. They changed my life. I'm here.' And when I was driving back to my house, I called the GM [Jon Horst] and told him, 'I'm signing.'»

Horst remembers the call on Dec. 15, 2020, like it was yesterday. «It's one of the greatest memories and moments of my life so far,» he says.

Within minutes, word spread across Milwaukee.

«Then all of a sudden,» Antetokounmpo says, «everybody went downtown, I signed the contract and I said, 'We're going to win.'»

What came next is NBA history.