Damian Lillard was vocal about Pat Connaughton playing a key role in Dame’s move to the Milwaukee Bucks this past summer. These two spent time together as teammates with the Portland Trail Blazers in the early years of Connaughton’s career. They formed a bond that would eventually be integral to Milwaukee landing Lillard in a blockbuster trade.
Now that Dame is headed back to Portland in his first game following his summer exit, Connaughton could not be more proud of what his teammate has done to get to this point in his career.
Milwaukee Bucks’ Pat Connaughton Comments on Damian Lillard’s Portland Return
Connaughton knows all about the special relationship Lillard has with the Blazers organization as well as with the city of Portland. They embraced him as one of their own the moment he joined the team as a rookie in 2012. The rest has been history.
“Portland welcomed him in as a kid when he went there,” Connaughton said, via Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. “It’s where he grew up. His family, friends, his career, everything kind of blossomed for him there. I know, obviously, Portland holds a special place for him.
“… To see him go back and witness that will be cool. I’m excited for it.”
For his part, Connaughton is very much looking forward to the warm welcome Blazers fans are going to give Lillard on Wednesday night. According to the Bucks shooting guard, Lillard has earned every bit of what’s coming to him:
“It’s cool for me to be able to see it because he deserves it,” Connaughton said. “The work that he puts in, the way that he treats the game of basketball and all that he’s given to the game, for him to be in a position to win a championship, it’s really awesome.”
The fans obviously know Lillard differently compared to how his teammates view him. For Connaughton, however, he has no doubt in his mind that Dame has everything you can ask for in a teammate:
“Damian Lillard is one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Connaughton said. “Obviously, everyone sees what he does on the court. How he handles himself on a daily basis. His professionalism, how he treats his teammates, people in the locker room, people that work for the teams. He’s a pleasure to be around.”
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