Former Portland Trail Blazers All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard has dismissed the notion that he is somehow past his prime at age 34.
The 6-foot-1 guard requested a trade to a contending team in the summer of 2023, and was ultimately traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, to team up with perennial MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo. Lillard couldn’t quite replicate his Portland-era exploits, and starting wing Khris Middleton missed much of the season with injuries. Although the Bucks went 49-33 and finished third in the Eastern Conference, injuries to Antetokounmpo and Lillard helped condemn the team to a first-round loss to the sixth-seeded Indiana Pacers.
Lillard recently said Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal SentinelHowever, he still has plenty left to give in the years to come. Milwaukee better hope so. The Weber State product is under contract with the Bucks through the 2026-27 season, when the point guard has a $58.4 million player option at age 36.
“I’m not a player that falls apart,” Lillard said. “I live a clean, good, healthy lifestyle, so I can do it. I can do the same thing I did two or three years ago. I can do it now.”
During his swan song with the Blazers in 2022-23, Lillard averaged a career-best 32.2 points on .463/.371/.914 shooting. His numbers dropped significantly as Antetokounmpo’s second fiddle in 2023-24, but more concerning was his shooting efficiency. His field goal percentage dropped from 46.3% to 42.4%, while his three-point shooting percentage dropped from 37.1% to 35.4%.
“I think when the trade happened, everybody was like, ‘Well, Milwaukee’s going to win,’ and I think when things weren’t always going the way they wanted or thought they were going to go, and I wasn’t looking the way I looked in Portland, I was like, ‘Oh, what’s going on with Dame? Why isn’t Dame doing that?’” he said. “But for a lot of the season, I was still averaging 26 points. If you really think about it, what standard do you hold me to if I’m scoring 26 points and averaging seven assists and I’m not feeling great? I go through a lot. That’s just the truth.”
Owczarski notes that Lillard has struggled with ankle, groin, adductor, Achilles and calf injuries throughout the season.
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