Giannis Antetokounmpo used the iconic Kobe Bryant line after the Bucks won the NBA Cup

After winning the NBA Cup trophy with a 97-81 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night in Las Vegas, the Milwaukee Bucks allowed themselves to celebrate, but not too much. The Bucks enjoyed the moment, but at the recommendation of assistant coach Darvin Ham, put the champagne on ice.

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who took home NBA Cup MVP honors after he had 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in the win, made it clear to his team that the performance is important for the team to revel in, but stressed to ESPN’s Malika Andrews in a postgame interview the need for the organization to keep its eyes on the prize, echoing an iconic line from the late Kobe Bryant in the process.

Whether it was intended or not, the “job’s not done” line is a nod to a press conference quote from Bryant during the 2009 NBA Finals, when the Los Angeles Lakers star was asked why he wasn’t happy to have a 2-0 lead in the championship round.

From Antetokounmpo’s perspective, it’s easy to understand why he doesn’t want this team to get too high off of the NBA Cup victory. Milwaukee had started the season 2-8 and at one point struggled to such an extent that Antetokounmpo even questioned his team’s will to compete.

But the team’s focus was as sharp as a spike during the NBA Cup tournament, and Antetokounmpo, while imploring the team to celebrate its accomplishment, also challenged them to stay focused.

“We just have to stay humble, keep improving,” Antetokounmpo said. “We have a lot of basketball ahead of us. We play Cleveland on Friday. Very, very good team.

“They’re going to be waiting for us. Right now, emotions are at an all-time high. We’ve got to bring them down, be humble. When we leave here tomorrow, go back to the gym, lock in and hopefully we can go and win against the Cavs.”