Milwaukee Bucks: George Hill discusses impactful “bubble experience”
By Dalton Sell
Milwaukee Bucks’ guard George Hill detailed his eventful experience in the NBA’s restart and how it changed his perspective.
The NBA restart did not go as planned for George Hill and the Milwaukee Bucks as they fell short of their championship goal, but they cemented themselves in history nevertheless.
Wanting to protest police brutality in the wake of Jacob Blake’s shooting in Kenosha, Hill informed his teammates just before tip-off that he intended to sit Game 5 of the first round. Hill’s decision created a domino effect, leading to everyone on the team opting to sit out alongside him and with the entire league following soon after.
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Head coach Mike Budenholzer gave his thoughts on George’s decision, commending the 34-year-old’s decision to make a stand. Via Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated:
"“George’s strength is something that inspires us all,” Budenholzer told The Undefeated. “I’ve known him a long time. I’m impressed for somebody to stand for something and lead us into a moment. I’m just very proud and inspired by him.”"
Over a month later, Hill was one of five recipients of this year’s NBA Cares Community Assist Award for his tremendous work outside of basketball. Following the announcement, ESPN’s Eric Woodyard gave some insight on Hill’s thoughts of his turbulent 2019-20 NBA season with the Milwaukee Bucks.
"“Very life changing. Very humbling at the same time, too. I think you kind of understand how much family and your fans and the arena and the workers and just the everyday grind and how much that was needed to the game,” Hill recalled of his bubble experience. “Games felt like it was pickup games rather than basketball. I didn’t know how much our fans played a part of our success and I feel like we thrived off of being in the arena. We thrived off our fans. We thrived off the opponents’ fans and things like that."
The NBA bubble was not kind to George Hill and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Hill and the Bucks were an NBA’s best 53-12 before the season halted in March, on pace to win 70 games before an injury to Giannis Antetokounmpo saw them lose three straight. They were the presumptive title favorites to many, but the team failed to regain any of their pre-hiatus momentum in the restart.
Going through a vile 3-5 stretch in the seeding games, Milwaukee still claimed the NBA’s top overall seed but went through a similarly disappointing playoff stretch, going 5-5.
"“We never could get over that hump and never could play back to the status that we normally played before pre-COVID,” he added. “But being away from it now, it’s refreshing. I haven’t really watched any of the games because I really don’t care about any of the games other than that if we’re not playing, but to be home with my family and friends, it’s very fun for me. It’s very humbling. Like I said, it’s something that I’ve missed dearly so I’m doing well now.”"
Next. Giannis Antetokounmpo: MVP ranks fifth in jersey sales since restart. dark
With an eventful 2019-20 NBA season almost finished, the details surrounding next season remain up in the air with the ongoing pandemic looming large. Whenever next season rolls around, George Hill and the Milwaukee Bucks will once again ramp up their quest for a title, hopefully under normal circumstances.