On Wednesday night, Damian Lillard will be looking to carry a Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee Bucks to a marquee win against the league-best Boston Celtics. It won’t be an easy task, but with Dame rolling of late, there’s no denying that if there’s anyone who could lead an undermanned side to a big win over the best team in the NBA, it would be him.
This always hasn’t been the case for Lillard in his debut season with the Bucks. In fact, it’s been an extremely tough road for the 33-year-old amid all the troubles he’s had to go through both on and off the court.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Damian Lillard Gets Brutally Honest
Lillard recently guested on Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan’s podcast, Dinners with DeMar. The Bucks All-Star took it as an opportunity to open up about the harsh reality he’s been living in since his summer blockbuster move to Milwaukee:
“What made it hard is how I was dealing with it all at one time,” Lillard said. “Having to find the dates that I’m going to be with my kids, separating with my kids’ mom, and I’m getting traded. And there’s all these fake reports coming out. … They never took into consideration what could be going on in my life. They don’t really care.”
Lillard acknowledged that he went through a bit of a slump early on in the season as he struggled to acclimatize himself with his new squad. What made it even more challenging was the fact that this was the toughest transition of his life:
“It’s public knowledge, everything that I’m dealing with,” he continued. “I just waited the whole summer. I get traded a couple of days before media day. I gotta pack up my whole life, go across the country, find a place to stay, leaving my kids behind. … The kids is the most important thing to me.”
The hardest part, according to Dame, was being away from his three kids and his family.
It’s not as if Lillard is complaining, though. He knows what he signed up for and he is well aware of the fact that this all comes with the territory. At the same time, though, it made him realize just how cruel life in the NBA can truly be.
“I was never looking for sympathy or anything like that. I think it just showed that there ain’t no love in the game,” he said.
Life doesn’t stop when the season starts. Talking about your feelings can be an important step in dealing with and navigating change. Join @DeMar_DeRozan as he hosts @Dame_Lillard on Dinners with DeMar, a new series featuring open and honest talks about mental health and life.… pic.twitter.com/Q29QkuFT01
— NBA (@NBA) March 20, 2024
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