Damian Lillard absolutely stole the show in his Milwaukee Bucks debut on Thursday. Fans were left in awe as the seven-time All-NBA point guard flexed his offensive prowess all over the Philadelphia 76ers, en route to a 118-117 victory for Milwaukee in their first game of the season.
It wasn’t only the supporters who were utterly impressed by Dame’s heroics in this one, though. Even his own teammates felt the exact same way after seeing Lillard suit up for his new team for the very first time.
Damian Lillard Left Milwaukee Bucks Teammates in Awe
Cameron Payne was also making his Bucks debut on Thursday, and while he too had his moments against the Sixers, there’s absolutely no denying that it was Lillard who made his mark with an incredible performance.
“It was tough man, he was hooping,” Payne said, via Jack Maloney of CBS. “It was crazy, we really ain’t got to see that Dame yet. That was our first time seeing him go crazy on our team, because in preseason he was getting trapped. We really didn’t get to see that. But he put on a show tonight. I know he’s gonna keep that going. The boy looked good.”
Jae Crowder, who has been around the block for quite a bit during his colorful NBA career, was able to take the court with Lillard for the first time. What left such a big impression on the veteran was how much the opposing defense gravitated toward Dame.
“That’s what I took away the most,” Crowder said. “Just seeing how much attention he draws.”
For Bobby Portis, it was Dame’s clutch three deep in the fourth quarter that was one of the biggest highlights from Dame’s debut. It wasn’t surprising at all that it was Lillard who closed out Philly with a trademark step-back three with a little over a minute remaining in the contest.
Damian Lillard TIME in Milwaukee ⌚ pic.twitter.com/fAslEqbEaN
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 27, 2023
“That was smooth. Lined it up, the crowd goes ‘three!’ and cashes it. Great moment for him in his first game with us,” Portis said.
The good news for Milwaukee fans is that there’s much more where that came from for Lillard.
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