Milwaukee Bucks superstar Damian Lillard has already expressed how appreciative he is of how the Portland Trail Blazers fans welcomed him in his first game back since his offseason blockbuster trade. It was a special moment for the 33-year-old as the home supporters gave him an epic ovation — one that will stick with him for the rest of his life.
Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo Reacts to Damian Lillard’s Portland Return
The warm reception Dame received at the Moda Center on Wednesday night had to pull on the heartstrings of every single person in the building. This included Bucks talisman Giannis Antetokounmpo, who himself had an emotional reaction to Lillard’s special moment:
“This is why we play the game,” Antetokounmpo said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Dame has been here for 11 years, literally built this house, as far as I can remember. From the first moment I came into the league, coming to Portland, you had to go through Dame in order for you to get a win. It was very, very hard. There’s some places in the NBA — you can ask other players — that it’s hard to get a win, and I thought Portland was always one of those places. Just from the way he played, the energy he played with, the way he carried himself, the way he led his teammates.”
Giannis and Dame had more than a few battles on the court through the years and they clearly left quite an impression on the former back-to-back MVP.
Giannis went on to say that moments like these are what define a player’s career. It also serves as a reminder as to why they work so hard behind the scenes to be the best versions of themselves on the court:
“Seeing something like that, coming out for warm-ups and then you see a standing ovation for him when they called his name and people showed appreciation and love, it’s big,” Antetokounmpo continued. “Sometimes, you go through every single day, you do your job, you go home, you come again, you do your job, you play a game, every day goes by and sometimes, people don’t really show appreciation. Being able to see my teammate get that type of love, that type of appreciation … that’s why we play the game of basketball. And I was very, very happy for him. And I know that he was happy.”
For his part, Giannis is probably looking forward to getting this type of reception from his home fans as well. Hopefully, he wouldn’t need to leave the Bucks to get it.
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