Damian Lillard has talked endlessly about how out of shape he was at the start of last season with the Milwaukee Bucks. It looks like that won’t be the case in 2024-25 as he’s brought in David Goggins to help with his offseason training.
“I don’t know what I was thinking today. I was just like, ‘What does it mean if I quit?’ I’ve said a lot of stupid things in my life. And I felt like I was going to go against everything I’ve ever said about myself.”
Dame has always been one to preach hard work and perseverance, considering he came from Weber State and wasn’t a high-profile recruit coming out of high school. So for him to say that after just one workout with Goggins, it means the fitness guru put him through his paces.
Anyone who knows Goggins knows that he is determined to stay as fit as possible. His extraordinary fitness comes not only from his ability to run marathons, but also from his ability to set records in pull-ups, among other things.
With Dame complaining about his poor fitness last season with the Bucks, a session with David is probably what he needed. Seeing the 34-year-old sweating is surely cause for concern for the rest of the league, given that despite Lillard’s fitness issues, the Bucks were third in the East.
Lillard was out of shape for his first season with the Bucks
This past offseason was a tough one for Dame. During his professional career, he was traded for the first time, which meant he had to adjust to a whole new city, new teammates, and a new style of basketball. In his personal life, he went through a difficult divorce from his college sweetheart Kay’La.
The couple is still embroiled in a custody dispute, meaning Lillard hasn’t been able to devote his full attention to basketball for the past year. He spoke about the difficulty of adjusting to a new life on his own, saying:
“I had to have a physical, so I didn’t get up or go to bed at all, I didn’t play a game all summer. My first day up and my first day going to bed was the first day of training camp.”
Lillard then added that he knew he wasn’t in the right frame of mind mentally and wasn’t physically conditioned when he couldn’t catch a pass from Giannis Antetokounmpo without going out of bounds. “I’ve never done this before.” Dame said of the incident.
Doc Rivers revealed not too long ago that Damian promised him he would be in top shape in 2024-25. Given the way he worked on social media all offseason, he may have kept his word.
