Bucks’ Damian Lillard says leaving Portland has been ‘a lot’

Highlights

• Damian Lillard’s off-the-court transition from Portland to Milwaukee has been as difficult as the one he’s making on the hardwood.
• The partnership between Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo is still evolving, but optimism is present.
• Milwaukee has beaten up on opponents since the All-Star break with the two on the court together.

The Milwaukee Bucks look to have rediscovered some of their lost swagger, coming out of the break with three straight victories (including a road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves). However, the team’s season-long journey to self-discovery is still ongoing as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard work to strike the right chord together.

Meanwhile, Lillard himself continues to adjust to his new surroundings in Cream City.

In a new interview with Sports Illustrated‘s Chris Mannix, Lillard spoke out on leaving Portland — the city that was his home for 11 years — to become a member of the Bucks. And while he has been in his “new” digs for a hot minute now, the eight-time All-Star revealed to the league insider that the transition away from the court has been as difficult as the one on it:

“Being away from my kids is tough. In Portland, my life was set up. My mom was down the street; my brother was the other way down the street. My sister was down the street. My kids in school. Just my whole life was set up perfectly right there. It was a great situation.

So just leaving that behind alone is a lot. And then you add the basketball side to it and that is what it is.”

So how has it been flying solo in Milwaukee? Apparently, less than glamorous.

“Go to practice, go home, watch boxing, play video games. Man, I type in [boxing website] FightHype on YouTube 100 times and be praying for something new to be on there. Seriously, I don’t have much of a life.

But that’s what comes with making a big boy decision. You got to be down for that and figure it out.”

Lillard & Giannis haven’t come close to realizing their potential as a star duo

Combined 55.2 PPG this season

Regarding the dynamic between him and Antetokounmpo specifically, Lillard told Mannix that the two have a “good” relationship, personally, and that he expects things to continue to progress on the court. He likened the situation to Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray figuring each other out over a period of years together with the Denver Nuggets.

Of course, Bucks fans aren’t looking for the duo to take six or seven years to get it straight; they want results now. To that end, the club’s three post-break games have offered reason for optimism. In Lillard and Antetokounmpo’s 75 shared minutes during that stretch, Milwaukee has outscored opponents by a whopping 32.8 points per 100 possessions.

Meanwhile, the team has posted a defensive rating of 89.9 over that same span, a particularly encouraging number given Lillard’s defensive struggles historically. In 2022-23, he ranked in the bottom 30 league-wide (among players logging 41-plus appearances) with a defensive rating of 117.4.

The Bucks still have work to do as a team on that side of the ball. At press time, the team ranks just 17th in the Association in defensive rating at 115.1.