"It's simple for me": Damian Lillard on transition to Bucks offense alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo (Exclusive)
After strolling through UCLA’s campus and accommodating a few autograph requests, Damian Lillard pondered about the first time he first teamed up with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Nearly eight months before the Portland Trail Blazers traded Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks, Antetokounmpo found it enticing enough to team up with Lillard that he selected him with his first pick in the NBA All-Star Draft. Ironically, Antetokounmpo chose Lillard over Jrue Holiday, whom the Bucks ultimately traded as a centerpiece to facilitate a three-team deal with Portland and Phoenix.
Lillard said he didn’t believe the episode overshadowed any deeper meaning. Nonetheless, Dame still has struggled to process that he and Antetokounmpo will now team up for something more significant than an All-Star game.
“I’ve been trying to tell him he should come to my team and he’s been telling me I should come to his, and eventually the stars aligned,” Lillard told Sportskeeda, “It ended up happening in his favor.”
Damian Lillard Exclusive Interview (Mark Medina)
Lillard and Antetokounmpo will make their debut together when the Milwaukee Bucks visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena, a matchup Lillard conceded will spark “some nerves” than most exhibition games partly because of that dynamic. Sportskeeda spoke to Lillard ahead of his Bucks’ debut about various topics, including his observations about Antetokounmpo in training camp, what it will take for the Bucks to win an NBA title and candor on his right calf injury last season.
Editor’s note: The following 1-on-1 conversation has been edited and condensed.
This might be weird to ask for a preseason game. But given your excitement level with playing for the Bucks and with Giannis, how do your emotions heading into your debut compare to other big moments?
Lillard:
“Obviously, it’s a new chapter, and you have some nerves about it. But I keep saying over and over that all of this happened at the right time of my life and the right time of my career where I’m mature enough to carry on as business as usual. That’s what it’ll be. I understand this is a process with getting fully comfortable and all of us getting comfortable with each other. Nobody is going to come out here in preseason and be who they’re going to be. I’m excited to be playing."
"It was a build-up process just because I hadn’t done team activities all summer because I didn’t know where I was going to be. So training camp for me was building up my wind, getting my legs under me and getting my body right as far as getting up and down and things like that because I hadn’t done it. So, I’m just excited to play. I’m not putting too much pressure or stress on it. I’m just happy to get out there and play for this organization.”
When you’re talking about the process, knowing the talent and experience you and the group have, what do you envision will be the easy things to sort out and what will be the things that will take some time?
Lillard:
“It’ll be smooth because I’ve been in the league a long time. There are a lot of things that are familiar. I’ve played with Terry [Stotts] for nine years [in Portland]. A lot of stuff that we put in is stuff that I’ve done for a long time. So, it’s simple for me. I understand it. I know where to find myself within that. I understand these guys’ games. They’ve been in the league a long time and have played against them a long time. I know what they like to do just from being fans of the game and watching so many of their games."
"Obviously, Giannis’ style is one that is complementary to mine and mine to his. Because of that, it’ll be pretty easy. But what will make it a process is just having to be able to find our full selves with each other. That’s all of us, Khris [Middleton] included and Brook [Lopez]. I think the familiarity will make it a easier process, but it’ll be a process regardless."
It doesn’t take a genius to know how you and Giannis complement each other well with your talent, personalities and pick-and-roll game. But what are the understated things that you think make you and Giannis such a great fit?
Lillard:
“The desire. Getting to know Giannis, it hasn’t been a thing about loudness or trying to prove anything. He does what he does. He shows up. He gets his work in. You see him getting his shots. You see him getting his post-work in. You see him get his post-work in and his warm-up. You see him getting his lift in. He gets his work done. I think that’s the strongest sign of somebody who takes it seriously and has real desire for success and for winning. They just show up and do it over and over. It gets boring. But that discipline is what he has. Same with Khris. You see him every day. You don’t hear him, but you see him doing it every single day."
"It’s comforting because that’s my process. I don’t say a whole lot about it. They’ll know that I came in and got my shots in. I got my pick-and-roll 3s in. I shot some free throws. I did my ball handling. I did some finishing. We practiced. I get my lift in. I get my body work done. You just see that process in guys that you know you’re going to have to depend on and they have experience, it gives you a lot of comfort. To see it collective in what the environment is, it’s encouraging."
I remember talking to you when you were with Portland about establishing a good culture. How does that compare with the culture here, and how do you incorporate your own practices with that?
Lillard:
“The culture here is great. I felt like when I was in Portland, Portland was a great time for me and a great organization. But like you said, a lot of times I was out front with pushing the line on that. Obviously, everybody was a part of that. It wasn’t just me. But here, it’s top to bottom. From the day I got here, the people I work with from the security to the front office to the people on the training staff and nutritionists to the assistants and video guys, everything is just so connected to where everybody is on point. That’s uncommon. That’s really uncommon to have it that way for everything to be so low maintenance and focused on the main thing. It’s encouraging.”
What did you think when Giannis picked you first at the All-Star game last year?
Lillard:
“Just the fact I’ve been trying to tell him he should come to my team and he’s been telling me I should come to his, and eventually the stars aligned. It ended up happening in his favor."
When that happened, did you think there was a deeper connection?
Lillard:
“I didn’t think of it that deep. I just thought, ‘Well, I guess we’re going to war.’”
Have there been any team bonding moments with dinners or Xs and Os talks that you think have been pretty helpful?
Lillard:
“We did some team stuff within the first week I got there and hanging out. But for the most part, it’s been basketball. I’ve been talking to the guys a lot around the gym. Just trying to get on the same page about certain things. At the stage of our careers that we’re in, a lot of us are double-digit years in the league and are set in our ways with who we are. I think the best way to get on the same page is, not only to be on the floor together, but to learn each other."
"I’ve been doing a lot of those type of things. I’m asking questions, figuring out where I can make the adjustment with me being here easier for guys and how I can fit in and help the situation as seamlessly as possible."
Physically, do you feel you fully recovered from your injuries last season?
Lillard:
“I wasn’t physically injured last season.”
Fair enough. I saw Chris [Haynes] story….. (Haynes reported for Bleacher Report that “Portland had asked Lillard to sit out the final 10 games of the 2022-23 regular season to help the franchise improve its lottery odds. He was told the higher the draft pick, the better chance they had at using the pick to facilitate a trade for a proven veteran player. He reluctantly acquiesced to being shut down, citing a calf injury)
Lillard:
[Interrupts] “I wasn’t. I honestly wasn’t. At the beginning of the season, I had some calf issues. But I wasn’t injured.”
That’s a whole thing in and of itself…
Lillard:
“I wasn’t. That’s the truth. I was healthy all summer. It is what it is.”
Given that, how was your ramp-up this offseason compared to the previous summer?
Lillard:
“Last offseason, I was coming off not playing the last 50 games. I was shaking off the rust with not playing basketball live at all for basically a year. I had surgery Jan. 7, 2022 [to treat an abdominal injury] and didn’t play that preseason in October. That’s 10 months off the court. This is not that. I played through the season. I felt good. I was training. I started training in June. I was feeling good. It wasn’t the same. I feel great coming into this.”
I understand your end game is to win a title, but given your health, your talent and the team’s talent, what’s your expectation on what your efficiency numbers will look like? (shooting percentages, 3-point shooting)? [Last season, Lillard averaged 32.2 points on 46.3% from the field and 37.1% from 3-point range].
Lillard:
“I have no idea. I don’t really think about it like that. I feel good. I’m going into it feeling good. The chips will fall where they’re going to fall.”
You all obviously have a good thing going. But knowing the rest of the league landscape, what will ultimately determine whether this group can win a championship?
Lillard:
“Everybody thinks they got a good thing going until it’s time to put it together and do it. That’s when you really find out. Everybody is thinking they’re going to come out and win the championship, including us. But you can say it as many times as you want. But you have to go out there and put it together and do it. We’ll see.
I know it’s been a whirlwind, but besides the ceremony, have you been able to explore Milwaukee yet?
Lillard:
“Not really. I go to dinner sometimes and move around a little bit. But for the most part, I’ve just been trying to get settled and focus on what I’m here for. That’s basketball. I’m sure as time goes by, I’ll work my way into seeing the city a little bit more and knowing what’s around me.
Any things you’re looking forward to in particular?
Lillard:
“I’m just trying to get settled in first all the way and get acclimated to what’s going on around here. Let the season get going before I start doing all of that. I’m here to win basketball games, man. That’s what I’m focused on more than anything else. Everything else will come in time.”
Have you fully processed all of this yet?
Lillard:
“Not fully. There are some days where I sit there and I think, ‘Man, I live here now. I’m not going back home.’ That’s the reason I keep saying I try to stay present and be where my feet are. If you start to think too much, your mind will start going all over the place. My kids are still in Portland right now because it was such an abrupt transition. But I try not to think about all of those things. I know it’ll all pass and everything will be as it should be. That’s what I focus on – being in the moment.”
Mark Medina is an NBA Insider at Sportskeeda. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads.