The Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals to the Phoenix Suns despite Giannis Antetokounmpo being healthy enough to play 35 minutes. The Greek Freak even scored the first basket of the game (and the series for that matter) by going 2 of 2 from the foul line. Seeing Antetokounmpo get those points was encouraging for the Bucks. For some Bucks fans who might know one obscure and random NBA Finals stat involving JR Smith, those points might have given sent shivers down their spines because…

The NBA Finals and JR Smith are two things that evoke completely different memories. Smith was there when the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off a miraculous comeback in the 2016 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. He also was at the center of one of the most infamous NBA Finals moments ever during the 2018 Finals. Between those championship series was the 2017 Finals series between the Cavs and the Warriors, which was kicked off by a JR Smith bucket. We all know what happened after.

In that series, the Warriors had a gentleman’s sweep of the Cavs, winning Games 1, 2, and 3 before letting their guard down in Game 4. They finished things off in Game 5 to complete Golden State’s redemption tour (with Kevin Durant on board).

JR Smith has no business dictating the future of the Bucks in this Bucks-Suns series, but if Milwaukee loses, we can probably just attribute this to the funny way the universe works sometimes.