PHOTO: Damian Lillard rocks stylish Dennis Rodman tee as he enjoys golf simulator
Since losing in the first round of the playoffs, Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard has been enjoying the offseason. Lillard is making the most his free time, playing golf simulator with his peers while rocking a Dennis Rodman shirt.
The shirt featured the face of a young, five-time NBA champion, Dennis Rodman, wearing vintage sunglasses. Rodman was a notable figure in the league from the 1990s until the 2000s, playing for the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons, the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal-bannered Los Angeles Lakers.
Lillard has been recovering from a Grade 1 Achilles strain suffered in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers. Lillard missed Game 4 and 5 of the series, playing through the injury in Game 6, but the Bucks fell short and got eliminated.
Lillard posted a franchise-record 35 points in the first half of Game 1 versus the Pacers, leading the Bucks to a series-opening victory despite the calf injury of former two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It was the second straight year the Bucks lost to a lower seed in the playoffs after finishing as the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
At this season’s All-Star festivities, Lillard also won the NBA’s three-point contest for the second straight year before being named the All-Star Game MVP after scoring 39 points on 11 made threes. With those feats, the eight-time All-Star made history, becoming the first player ever to win the three-point shootout and the All-Star Game MVP the same weekend.
Damian Lillard reacts to Trail Blazers legend’s iconic shot
Aside from Rodman, Damian Lillard also paid homage to Portland Trail Blazers legend Clyde Drexler in one of his Instagram stories, sharing Drexler’s iconic fingeroll back in the 1990s.
“So tough Glide,” Lillard wrote.
The shot came from Portland’s first-round matchup versus the Houston Rockets in the 1993-94 playoffs, where they lost in four games in a best-of-five series. Drexler then joined the Rockets the following season.
He was the franchise’s leading scorer with 18,040 points before Damian Lillard eclipsed his record in the 2022-23 season, his last year with the Blazers. Drexler had a longer tenure with the Trail Blazers than Lillard, playing for 12 seasons in Portland, while the current Bucks star only played 11.
Drexler led the Blazers to the NBA Finals in the 1989-90 season and the 1991-92 season, something that Lillard has not done for Portland since being drafted by the team in 2012.