- OG Anunoby hilariously pranked Damian Lillard a while before he was traded to the Bucks
- The Raptors were said to be leading the race to land Damian Lillard
- Anunoby sent Lillard a text welcoming him to Toronto
It appears OG Anunoby is quite the prankster, and Damian Lillard was on the receiving end of one of his pranks a while ago. Anunoby’s Toronto Raptors were, at one point, leading the race to acquire Lillard, and the 26-year-old sent the star point guard a text that had him sweating a bit.
“I was on the phone and I just got a random text from OG, ‘Welcome to Toronto,'” Lillard said. “… He always like, messing around, joking, and stuff like that. We trained together in the summer a little bit. He texted me, ‘Welcome to Toronto.’ so I was like, ‘Man, let me call this dude and see.’ And I finally called him, he didn’t answer.”
Anunoby not picking up would have just made matters worse for Lillard, who was getting a bit nervous. He would eventually call back and make it clear it was a prank.
“Then he called me back, he was laughing and I was like, ‘Okay,'” Lillard added. “It just caught me off guard, I know it didn’t happen like that… But he always play like that.”
The prank Raptors forward OG Anunoby pulled on Bucks star Damian Lillard that shocked him days before actual trade: “Welcome to Toronto.” pic.twitter.com/kSJ4WAAIKv
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 3, 2023
That was brilliant on Anunoby’s part. The fact that Haynes stated Lillard had a nervous reaction to that text makes it pretty clear he had no interest in playing for Toronto. Fortunately for the 33-year-old, the Milwaukee Bucks came in and saved the day.
How Good Would The Raptors Have Been With Lillard?
Our proposed Lillard trade to Toronto saw them giving up a package centered around Scottie Barnes for the seven-time All-Star. It would leave the Raptors with a core of Lillard, Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Jakob Poeltl.
That is fairly impressive and would certainly be capable of challenging the big guns at the top of the Eastern Conference. Would they be enough for the Raptors to get over the line, though? Probably not.
Lillard is still playing at a high level, having averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game last season, but he is not good enough to be the best player on a title-winning team at this point. He is a great second star, which is exactly what he’ll be in Milwaukee.
The Trade To The Bucks Was The Best Possible Scenario For Lillard
While Lillard had his heart set on going to the Miami Heat, I’d say he has ended up in an even better situation in Milwaukee. He gets to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is clearly the best player on the team, and Lillard can just play off of him.
They complement each other extremely well too. Antetokounmpo needs shooters around him while Lillard needs defensive support, and they provide that to each other.
The star guard also gives Milwaukee another closer with Khris Middleton that they desperately needed. Lillard tends to come up big in the big moments and can be trusted to dictate the offense in the clutch.
Lillard stated it is a dream come true to play with Giannis on a championship team, and it certainly would have been. He has never got to play with such a talented team, but now with it, comes expectations. No one blamed Dame for the Portland Trail Blazers not winning a title, but some fingers will be pointed at him if the Bucks fail to do so.
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