Milwaukee Bucks superstar Damian Lillard is still searching for his elusive first NBA championship. While Lillard has had a stellar Hall of Fame career, his resume is missing a title.
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Lillard had plenty of opportunities to reach the NBA Finals, but he didn’t play the final games of the season. He came close on several occasions and was part of excellent teams, notably as a Portland Trail Blazer.
However, the 34-year-old believes his selection window was wide open when he had former All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge on his team. Lillard appeared on the Club 520 podcast to discuss various things, and he said that if Aldridge had never left for San Antonio, he would have held the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
“If [Lamarcus Aldridge] “I would have never gone to San Antonio, we would have won at least once by now. I could have flourished, but he was so good,” Lillard said.
Lillard and Aldridge were teammates together for three seasons from 2012-15. Aldridge was still at the top of his game at age 29. As for Lillard, he was just beginning to blossom after four years at Weber State and at age 24, just before Aldridge left.
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The two teams have reached the playoffs twice together. In 2014, the Trail Blazers lost in five games to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs after finishing 54-28, fifth in the Western Conference.
In 2015, Aldridge’s final season, the Blazers were eliminated in the first round, losing to the Memphis Grizzlies in five games. They finished the regular season with a 51–31 record.
The ancient sevenfold NBA The All-Star signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Spurs in the summer of 2015. That ended his tenure with the Blazers, and while they reached new heights without him, they did make an appearance in the Western Conference Finals in 2019.
Aldridge spent six seasons with the Spurs, averaging 19.5 points per game, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 blocks while shooting 50.2 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from three-point range. Although he left the Blazers for that elusive title, he and the Spurs were unable to win it.
Lillard is still trying to win his first title, and he has a great chance of doing so with the Bucks. Led by former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks have the seventh-lowest odds to win the 2025 title at +1300, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
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