Milwaukee Bucks’ fans celebrate NBA championship with parade

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to squeeze into the streets of downtown Milwaukee to catch a glimpse of the Milwaukee Bucks in a parade that celebrates the city’s first NBA championship in half a century.

The parade is slated to begin at 11 a.m.

The team’s ascendance has invigorated a Midwestern city that is far from the league’s more cosmopolitan venues, like Los Angeles or Boston.

And fans have embraced NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who decided to stay with the team that selected him eight years ago with the 15th overall pick in the draft when he was just 18 years old. The players and owners will board five double-decker buses Thursday as they roll through the heart of the city.

They’ll finish with a celebration outside Fiserv Forum in the city’s Deer District.