Browns' Odell Beckham Jr. Says Watching Bucks Win NBA Title 'Inspires You Even More'
July 25, 2021
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is drawing inspiration from the Milwaukee Bucks winning the NBA championship.
OBJ discussed the subject while speaking to the media Sunday:
Beckham said, "Watching the Bucks win a championship inspires you even more. Cleveland needs a championship."
With NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way, the Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns to win their first title in 50 years.
The Browns have never won a Super Bowl, and it has been 57 years since they last won an NFL championship.
While Beckham missed the latter part of the 2020 season and the playoffs after tearing his ACL, he watched the Browns reach the postseason for the first time since 2002.
In addition to that, they beat the rival Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Round of the playoffs and nearly upset the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round.
Beckham, who was a Pro Bowler in each of his first three NFL seasons with the New York Giants, is working toward being ready for the start of the 2021 regular season.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported in May that she believed Beckham would be ready by Week 1 based on his progress to that point.
Beckham's big-play ability is huge for the Cleveland offense in terms of opening up the underneath routes for other receivers like Jarvis Landry and keeping opposing defenses from stacking the box too much against the running game.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield made significant strides during his third NFL season in 2020, and the expectation is that he will take the next step in 2021.
For the Browns as a whole, the next step is making it to at least the AFC Championship Game, and based on how talented their roster is from top to bottom, that isn't an unrealistic expectation.
The Browns are in the conversation with the Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans in terms of being the class of the AFC, which is new territory for the franchise.
It was a slow build for the Bucks en route to their first championship since 1971, as Giannis and Co. experienced some heartbreaking playoff losses first.
The Browns suffered a tough defeat to Kansas City last year, which may have been the learning lesson it needed to make it even further in 2021.