• The 2023 All-Star Draft saw Giannis Antetokounmpo draft Damian Lillard onto his team before then-teammate Jrue Holiday
• LeBron James was stunned because Giannis always drafted his teammates first at the All-Star Game
• His suspicions came true as Lillard has now been traded to team up alongside Giannis on the Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo will be smiling ear-to-ear in Milwaukee after seeing his Bucks franchise bring Damian Lillard to the organization. Even though they paid the price of losing Jrue Holiday, Giannis had made it clear during the 2022 All-Star Game that he would pick Lillard over Jrue, something that even shocked LeBron James.
Giannis makes a big show of his first pick, with all commentators thinking Jrue Holiday would be the name Antetokounmpo would select. Instead, he went for Lillard and prompted LeBron to make a comment about Giannis changing.
“Giannis has changed this weekend. He always talks about loyalty, being loyal, and all that stuff. So I knew for sure his first pick was for sure going to be Jrue, so I don’t know what’s going on with Giannis. Okay, okay, messing my whole draft board up.”
LeBron knew Giannis was onto something when he picked Dame no.1 pic.twitter.com/bLs6AAGg1T
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) September 28, 2023
Giannis made aggressive statements this summer about his future, implying he may leave the Bucks if he and the team aren’t on the same page. He also stressed that he doesn’t want to have a 20-year career with only one title, pressuring the Bucks into getting him more help before he enters a contract year in 2024-25.
The Bucks have obliged and given him the best player he’s ever played with, returning ‘championship or bust’ expectations in Milwaukee.
Damian Lillard Has Been Wanting To Team Up With Giannis Antetokounmpo
Lillard openly admitted that he wanted to team up with Giannis in an interview with GQ Sports before the start of the 2022-23 season. Given those comments and what Giannis did at All-Star, maybe we all should have seen this coming.
“I would pick Giannis. I would say the dominance, somebody that’s going to get to the rim. He’s a good playmaker. Good defender. Disruptive, and the way he plays complements the way I play. I would bring something to the table that complements what he does and vice versa. Seamless.”
Lillard spent almost the entire summer agitating for a trade to the Miami Heat. He made no secret of that matter even while knowing that the Heat had among the worst possible trade packages for Lillard out of any team in the league.
The deal with the Bucks has netted the Blazers a young prospect with a high ceiling in Deandre Ayton and a star-quality player that they could flip right now for more future assets in Holiday. In addition, they also got a crucial 2029 first-round pick from the Bucks, by which time both Lillard and Giannis could be gone from the franchise.
Damian Lillard Reacts To Finally Getting Traded
There was a lot of talk about Lillard requesting another trade if he was moved to any destination that wasn’t Miami. In addition, it was also said that Lillard would not report to training camp for any team that wasn’t the Heat. It’s clear that wasn’t 100% accurate, as Lillard commented on his trade to the Bucks and seemed relatively excited.
“The casuals won’t be addressed but the Trail Blazers fans and the city of Portland that I love truly will be. And they will be addressed truthfully. Stay tuned Excited for my next chapter!”
The casuals won’t be addressed but the trailblazers fans and city of Portland that I love truly will be … and they will be addressed truthfully. Stay tuned
Excited for my next chapter! @Bucks 🎟️
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) September 27, 2023
Lillard averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists last season. He was a terror on a non-competitive Portland side but didn’t show any signs of his production falling off. Now that he is alongside Giannis and the Bucks, teams in the East should be terrified of what they can achieve.
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