Last summer, Damian Lillard and James Harden were the biggest stories of the offseason, with both superstars moving away from their previous teams. It was a special moment for Lillard, who joined the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster trade that brought him alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
Damian Lillard admitted recently that he thought the transition would be easier for him to go to a team with more star power after leaving the Portland Trail Blazers. However, that was not the case.
“It was a harder transition than I thought for real, like just like I said because of my life [moving cities, going through a divorce], but then also like adjusting to playing with another great player [Antetokounmpo] and then also playing with Khris,” Damian Lillard said on an appearance on the Club 520 Podcast with Jeff Teague. (h/t NBC Sports)
“Khris is a great player too, but he plays a certain way too, so I’m having to get used to playing with two players, and I don’t want to stop them from doing what they do, but I got to find out how to be the best version of myself within this too, so it was just a lot of moving parts; it was more difficult than I thought it would be.”
Injuries derailed Bucks and Damian Lillard title hopes last season.
The Milwaukee Bucks never hit their stride during the past season. A mid-season coaching change put the team off after a relatively strong start with 30+ wins. The Bucks ended up getting the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference and were set to face the Indiana Pacers in the 2024 NBA playoffs.
Before the start of the playoffs, Khris Middleton was dealing with various foot injuries, while Giannis Antetokounmpo was also sidelined before the start of the postseason. Lillard was also injured during the series against Indiana.
That said, Milwaukee will have the time and space to sort things out this year after failing to achieve their goals last season. It remains to be seen if Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the rest will find a way to win a title against top-tier Eastern Conference powerhouses like Boston and New York.
