Jrue Holiday credited God for Milwaukee Bucks' victory in the 2021 NBA Finals.
Overwhelmed with his team's success for clinching the championship, Holiday declared that the reason behind it was "only God," CBN News reported.
"This is such a blessing, man. This is only God. Like I said before, as a kid, you only dream of this moment, so to be able to actually do it, to see the confetti, to do it with my brothers, there's nothing like it," he said.
The Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the finals on Tuesday evening, 105-98, 50 years after the team captured its first championship.
Holiday revealed that the characters of his teammates helped pave the way for their feat.
"Everybody on my team is humble. Everybody on my team puts their head down and they work. Everybody on my team supports each other. There's no envy or jealousy. Everybody loves to see everybody else succeed. I feel like that's the biggest reason why we're here," he told the reporters.
"Coming here was obviously the greatest thing in my career." pic.twitter.com/QRxqKNafbp
"” Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) July 21, 2021
Giannis Antetokounmpo, a former street vendor in Greece, was hailed as the finals' Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Antetokounmpo scored 50 points, 14 rebounds and blocked five shots, while Holiday delivered 12 points, four steals and 11 assists.
Emotional of their win, the MVP moved to also honor God in his speech when he accepted the award.
"First of all, I want to thank God for blessing me with this amazing talent, for putting me in the position that I am today. Everything I do, I do through Him. I'm extremely blessed," he stated.
The fans compared Antetokounmpo to Bucks' former player Lew Alcindor.
Established in 1968, the Bucks won the right to draft Alcindor against the Suns by flipping a coin. Alcindor, who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, became instrumental for the team's success in 1971 but requested to be traded, ending up with the Los Angeles Lakers.
In the 2013 interview with Inspiring Athletes, Holiday, who was then newly drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans, said that he was getting "through things" by "leaning on God."
"You can get through anything with God," he added.
Asked about his approach as an NBA starter at that time, the athlete replied that he will just try to take the opportunity and leave it in the hands of God. He also stated that he will try to do what God wants him to do and perform the best he can for the team.
The athlete's parents, Shawn and Toya, were former basketball players at Arizona State University. His mother was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1982. His two brothers, Justin and Aaron, are also NBA players who are members of the Indiana Pacers. He is married to Lauren Nicole Cheney, a two-time Olympic gold medalist soccer player, whom he met while studying at University of California, Los Angeles.
Holiday is slated to play for Team USA at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, alongside Suns' Devin Booker and teammate Khris Middleton.
