Both teams were involved in a coin toss for the rights to the first overall pick in the 1969 NBA draft, which the Bucks won and used to select Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, from UCLA.

In the offseason, they were at risk of losing two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Award-winner Giannis Antetokounmpo in free agency.

[9] To improve their roster, the Bucks acquired guard Jrue Holiday, a highly respected defensive player and an All-Star in 2013, from the New Orleans Pelicans in a four-team trade, surrendering a bounty in starting point guard Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, the rights to R. J. Hampton, and a package of future draft picks.

[13] In the first round, the Bucks won in a four-game sweep over sixth-seeded Miami Heat, to whom they had lost in the previous season's conference semifinals.

[14] However, Milwaukee lost starting guard Donte DiVincenzo for the season after he tore a ligament in his left ankle in Game 3.

A two-way contributor, he was the team's sixth-leading scorer in the regular season, making 38% of his three-point field goals.

[19] During the 2020 offseason, Phoenix acquired All-Star Chris Paul from the Oklahoma City Thunder by trading away Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre Jr., and a future first-round draft pick.

[20] The Suns, led by Paul, rising star Devin Booker, 2018 first overall pick Deandre Ayton, and second-year head coach Monty Williams, finished the season with a 51–21 record as the No.

[23] Phoenix began their playoff run by defeating the seventh-seeded and defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round in six games.

Phoenix led 88–68 with 2:20 remaining in the quarter after Paul passed to Deandre Ayton, who was fouled and made two free throws.

[21] In his return from his knee injury, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo returned and had 20 points, 17 rebounds in limited minutes due to foul trouble,[21] and made a chase-down block of a layup attempt by Mikal Bridges that was reminiscent of "The Block" by LeBron James on Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals.

[29] Milwaukee pulled to within seven points midway through the fourth quarter, but Paul passed to Booker for a 3-pointer and then stole the ball from the Bucks' Khris Middleton and hit a jumper to extend the lead to 106–94.

[39] He also posted his 11th game in the playoffs with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's team mark set in 1974 for most in one postseason.

[36] Antetokounmpo was an improved 13 of 17 on his free throws, as Bucks fans chanted "M-V-P", compared to fans on the road mocking him with a sped-up timer count,[35][40] as his lengthy deliberate free throw routine could take longer than the league's 10-second rule to shoot which would result in a violation.

[41] Middleton scored 40 points, including 10 straight for Milwaukee in the closing moments, and the Bucks won 109–103 to tie the series 2–2.

Booker rebounded from his Game 3 struggles to score a game-high 42 points, but his playing time was restricted late by foul trouble.

[43] With 3:42 left in the fourth and the Suns up by three Jrue Holiday attempted a layup and received a great deal of contact from Devin Booker with no call (the play was determined to be a foul by the NBA in the Last 3:30 Report after the game).

This sparked a lot of controversy online, with the decision to not call the foul being criticised by fans and sports media.

[47] Middleton and Antetokounmpo became the third set of teammates to score 40 or more points in games in the same Finals series, joining Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson with the Los Angeles Lakers (1980) and LeBron James and Kyrie Irving while with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2016).

[57] Bucks' role player Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the older brother of Giannis, and assistant coach Josh Oppenheimer were away from the team due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

[52] Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a playoff career-high 50 points and added 14 rebounds and five blocks to lead the Bucks to a 105–98 victory to win the series in six games.

[10] The 50 points tied a Finals record for the most scored by a player in a series-clinching game, set by Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks in 1958.

[58][59] After his dominant performance in the series, including his third game with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds, Antetokounmpo was named the Finals MVP,[60] the youngest winner at age 26 since Kawhi Leonard (22) in 2014.

The game was tied at 77 after three quarters before he scored 13 in the final period to lead Milwaukee to its first championship since 1971, when they were led by Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson.

[60] They also became the second team in NBA history to come back from down 2–0 twice in the same playoffs after the 2020–21 Los Angeles Clippers also did so in consecutive rounds.

[66] YouTube TV introduced a new multi-platform ad campaign during the series featuring a grandmother using the service to watch NBA games on-demand.

[67] The Finals were televised in the United States by ABC (which included local affiliates KNXV-TV in Phoenix and WISN-TV in Milwaukee) for the 19th consecutive year, and broadcast through ESPN Radio nationally.

[citation needed] As with the previous years, the series was called by Mike Breen on play-by-play with Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy as analysts.