Lillard shows who he is at Bucks media day: Honest and ready, with reservations
It’s about the work, for now, in Milwaukee. It certainly isn’t about the nightlife. Damian Lillard was introduced as a Milwaukee Buck at the Bucks media day and had much to say about his transition to Milwaukee.
“When I came here in the past, it was always like, snowing,” he said. “It was kind of depressing, to be honest.”
He was greeted with much fanfare two days ago when he landed in Milwaukee, as 5,000 fans came out to greet the new Bucks acquisition. Lillard saw their enthusiasm, as well as some sunshine, and felt a little bit at ease. “This might be alright,” he thought.
Lillard had asked to be sent to Miami, where he would be a part of a royal NBA lineage under Pat Riley, a major market in South Beach, and far less depressing weather.
Lillard’s probably not trying to think about Miami, and probably not thinking too heavily about Milwaukee, either. He’s likely thinking more about the basketball court, and his “dream” fit besides Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Everybody says they’re excited,” he said. “I’m like, actually excited to be here.”
Lillard’s vibe was not exactly that of excitement, but that’s never been his style. His perhaps most signature moment was him staring deadpanned into the camera after draining a series winning three against Oklahoma City in 2018. He’s always been low-key but honest, so when he says he’s excited about it, you tend to believe him. He spoke about putting in the work. He spoke about bringing to life the promise that is on paper. He also talked about his defense, which will be under the microscope as he slides in to the spot where Jrue Holiday was able to help propel the Bucks to a championship.
“I’m not going to come in here and be Jrue Holiday, who in my opinion is the best defender on the perimeter,” he said. “But if you go back and watch my progression from year to year, you can see how I’ve improved on that side.”
Lillard was not asked about his preferred destination, Miami, but spoke with reservation tantamount to candor in just how much he loved the idea of playing in Milwaukee. He was looking forward, though, to being “freed up” on offense by the attention Antetokounmpo will command from defenses. Antetokounmpo also spoke lustfully about the idea of having open shots on offense. The premise of the pairing is this: Both players are good enough to skew defenses toward them, and being skewed in two directions at once will stretch and break defenses, creating open shots for everyone. If players aggressively attack Lillard with the ball, Antetokounmpo will be open. If players play Lillard conservatively to defend Antetokounmpo, Lillard will shred them with deep shooting. If teams devote themselves to both shadowing Lillard with the ball and keeping Antetokounmpo guarded going toward the hoop, that will leave Milwaukee’s ancillary players, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, and whomever among their capable rotation players is fitting with that group, with open looks. Open shots haven’t come easily for Milwaukee, particularly in the playoffs. That figures to change, and the hope is it will allow Milwaukee to get back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2021.
Milwaukee, despite its cold winters and Midwestern modesty, has won over the hearts of players like Antetokounmpo, as well as Bobby Portis and many others during the Bucks’ run at contending. Lillard did not dawn rose-tinted glasses in talking about the city, but the basketball side of things seems more than enough to get Lillard in the door. The connection with the city may take some time, but given Lillard’s affinity for community, and Milwaukee’s devotion to its heroes, the elements are there for a beautiful relationship.
As the Bucks enter into a season with massive expectations and many new parts to fit together, including Lillard and a head coaching change after five seasons of Mike Budenholzer at the helm, the focus is on the basketball and doing the work to turn their promise into results. For a team that appeared to be running back what didn’t work in the first round of the playoffs after cruising to a top seed, the shift is risky but necessary. The welcome party may not have rivaled Miami’s Super-Soaker Shaquille O’Neal welcome, or its Heatles coronation party for LeBron James’ and Chris Bosh’s arrival, but it was more focused, more practical, and there was no “not one, not two, not three…” arrogance from anyone involved.
There was a thread many Bucks hit on over looking forward to things becoming easier on offense. Everyone from Lillard and Antetokounmpo to Malik Beasley and Brook Lopez was looking forward to defenses affording them more open space with which to operate. Obviously it won’t be easier for everyone all the time, as defenses will still have five players to deploy in an effort to stop them, but for how much has been made about the Bucks’ downgrade on defense from Holiday to Lillard, the Bucks’ players seemed to be thinking way more about the offensive upside than the defensive downside.
The Bucks seem to be starting the season in a healthy mindset in this regard. The challenges will come, and all parties (head coach, co-stars, management) seem to be anticipating challenges, and the focus on the process bodes well for a team entering the year as conference favorites. Obviously, the Bucks will end media day 0–0, and the key revelations won’t come until the games start, but the vibes from Day Zero of the season are a team that’s focused and fully ready to handle the expectations that come with the moves they made.