Damian Lillard recently acknowledged that his first season with the Milwaukee Bucks was more difficult than expected.
Lillard, who joined the Bucks in September 2023 after being traded from the Portland Trail Blazers, spoke candidly about his challenging transition.
The adjustment wasn’t just about basketball, as Lillard also dealt with personal life changes, including a divorce.
On the court, Lillard had to adapt to playing alongside two other stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
Lillard explained that balancing his game with theirs was a significant challenge.
“It was a harder transition than I thought for real like just like I said because of my life but then also like adjusting to playing with another great player [Giannis] and then also playing with Khris [Middleton],” Lillard stated on the Club 520 podcast, via HoopsHype.
He emphasized the difficulty of finding his rhythm while allowing his teammates to play their best.
“Khris is a great player too but he plays a certain way too, so I’m having to get used to playing with two players and I don’t want to stop them from doing what they do, but I got to find how to be the best version of me within this too, so it was just a lot it, was a lot of moving parts, it was more difficult than I thought it would would be,” Lillard added.
Despite the challenges, Lillard’s season had many highlights, including setting a franchise record for points in a debut game with the Bucks.
He also reached several personal milestones, such as surpassing 20,000 career points and making his 2,500th three-pointer.
However, injuries impacted Lillard’s season, causing him to miss critical games during the playoffs.
The Bucks ultimately fell to the Indiana Pacers in the first round, marking a disappointing end to Lillard’s first season in Milwaukee.
As Lillard reflects on the season, he acknowledges that the transition was tougher than he anticipated.
