The former Blazers star makes his return to Portland.
Before the season started, the Portland Trail Blazers did the unthinkable in that they finally traded franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. Lillard had become almost synonymous with the Blazers franchise but it was clear that his time with the team had run its course.
Now as a member of the Bucks, Lillard was set to make his one and only stop this season in Portland on Wednesday. Upon entering the arena for the first time as an opponent, Lillard admitted, via Danny Marang of 1080 The Fan, that things felt a little weird.
“It was weird. As I was coming in – I was going to instinctively keep walking down the hall – I had never been in the visitors locker before. So it was really weird.” – Lillard on his first time in the door
— Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) February 1, 2024
Lillard also went on to mention how it feels like returning home.
Damian Lillard played 11 seasons for the Blazers before being traded to the Bucks. He was an All-Star for seven of those seasons and was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. There’s sure to be a lot of emotions when he takes the court.
This season though, Lillard is on a team that’s closer to contending for a championship than he ever was as a member of the Blazers. Giannis Antetokoumnpo is the best player that Lillard’s ever played with. The Bucks are currently second in the Eastern Conference standings.
Lillard has been averaging 25.1 points per game, 4.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 42.2 percent shooting from the field, 34.7 percent shooting from the three point line and 92.4 percent shooting from the free throw line.
The Bucks recently fired head coach Adrian Griffin and replaced him with Doc Rivers. At 32-15, they are four and a half games back of the Boston Celtics for first in the East.
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