2021 Championship: Juba Again

After a year where we crowned no champion, it was quite the celebration when Fat Jubas took the 2021 title, putting a capper on a shortened season that came on the heels of an aborted season.

While FJUB had always been a good team — with seven straight playoff appearances and counting — they have been just a little below the elite in recent seasons, hovering as a fringe contender. However, a stellar 2021 regular season campaign had them entering the playoffs with the second-best overall record and a great shot at the championship.

Once top seed SWMP was upended by #8 BUFF in round one, and #3 CHMK and #4 MELO were similarly upset, the crown was there for the taking. While Jubas faced a little adversity in round one — barely slipping by #7 FUNK — it was nothing compared to their Finals matchup versus SBUK. Missing two key players for the final round, FJUB won by just one three pointer overall, with unexpected hero Georges Niang hitting five in his last game. This had to be the closest Finals matchup ever, and FJUB escaped by a hair with their second title.

The last time Jubas took home a Slam trophy, it was 2012 and their big three was Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. This time around, it was another Suns’ point guard, Chris Paul, leading the charge to a ring. That offense-heavy team was a far cry from this version of FJUB, which featured a league-leading defense  — tops in steals and blocks — paired with three-point threats across the board.

Paul was flanked by Fred VanVleet and Malcolm Brogdon alongside him in the backcourt, while Tobias Harris, Robert Covington, and Danny Green filled in the wing spots. Myles Turner held down the middle, with Brook Lopez as an important backup big, since Turner didn’t make any postseason appearances.

This FJUB roster wasn’t full of grade-A superstars — it certainly never rated highly year-to-year in the keeper ratings — but it had been tinkered with over time, as GM Eric kept true to his vision. With a declining core post-Nash and KG, Jubas’s keeper core two years after their 2012 title look like this: Gordon Hayward, Jeff Green, Jonnas Valanciunas, Marc Gasol, Nicolas Batum, and Tyreke Evans.

Decent, but nothing thrilling. The full rebuild started with the acquisition of Chris Paul ahead of the 2014 season. Turner came aboard in 2017 via trade, as did Jrue Holiday in 2018. The 2020 draft brought Fred VanVleet at RD3.10, which gave FJUB enough offensive punch to shift toward some more balanced pieces like Brogdon and Harris (in exchange for Holiday) during the past championship year.

Overall, this title winner was more than the sum of its pieces, and a hearty congrats to a FJUB franchise that has been on the championship podium before — becoming only our second two-time champ — and will look forward to being again!

As for SBUK, it was two years of non-playoff seasons before a thrilling run to their first Finals appearance. After winning the Toilet Bowl in 2019 with a stacked roster, it was assumed SBUK would ascend into contention status. Finishing with the sixth-best regular season record in 2021 proved they were on their way, and this Finals appearance will give them even more optimism for the future. Losing by one three must hurt but that just means they could storm back next season to win it all!