Watch Milwaukee’s touching video tribute to Damian Lillard
Last offseason, Milwaukee Bucks changed their roster, choosing to change after Damian Lillard‘s catastrophic Achilles tear. Always on a timer, especially with Giannis Antetokounmpo set to hit free agency in 2027. The Bucks decided to move on from Lillardwaiving and raising the hundreds of millions remaining on his contract, so they could have the cap space they needed to bring in Myles Turner to try and stay semi-competitive.
This cleared the way for Lillard to return to his former team and longtime home of the Portland Trail Blazers in free agency. And on Monday night, Lillard returned to Fiserv Forum for the first time since being waived by the Bucks with the visiting Blazers. And the Bucks, even though Lillard only played two seasons for the team, released a video tribute to him thanks to him for all his contributions as they tried to challenge for the title in Cream City.
It’s safe to say the Bucks’ gambit for Lillard didn’t work. They traded Jr. Holiday in the Lillard deal, and that eventually cleared the way for Holiday to join the Boston Celtics, the team that won the title in 2024. Meanwhile, the Bucks lost in the first round in both playoff series with Lillard on the team.
But at the end of the day, the Bucks deserve credit for throwing caution to the wind and going for it. It was just a shame that the Lillard-Antetokounmpo pairing didn’t work out.
The Bucks are reeling from Giannis Antetokounmpo’s injury
The Bucks are leaning on Antetokounmpo more than ever now that their key playmakers in the past, Lillard, Holiday and Khris Middleton, are all gone. Ryan Rollins emerged as Milwaukee’s longtime goaltender, but the team around them wasn’t great. With Antetokounmpo is nursing a groin injury, The Bucks have struggled, and have now lost five straight after losing to the Blazers 115-103 on Monday.
Antetokounmpo will need to return as soon as possible; The Bucks are now under .500, and given how dire their cap and draft situations are, they’ll have to win at all costs.
2025-11-25 04:01:00
