At this point in the season, it’s hard to deny that Damian Lillard has made the Milwaukee Bucks a better team. Arguing against this notion is made even more difficult by the fact that Dame just came out with an eye-opening 41-point performance on Monday to lead a Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks side to a huge comeback win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
For his part, Giannis is adamant that Dame does not only make the Bucks a more formidable side but equally important is how Lillard makes Antetokounmpo an even better player.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Credits Damian Lillard for Mindset Shift
Giannis is the first to admit that he used to strive for perfection — to a fault. He has, however, now come to accept that this is simply an impossible objective. Apparently, Lillard’s arrival has significantly impacted Antetokounmpo’s mindset shift.
“I feel like I’m just over myself,” he said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I have an all-time great teammate (in Damian Lillard) that I have to pick my spots. I cannot be all over the place anymore. It’s not just me out there. I have a guy that can score at will, anytime he wants.”
Giannis went deeper into this change in perspective and how it has worked wonders for him in terms of helping him achieve his full potential:
“I know that sometimes I’m going to get to my spots, sometimes I’m not going to get to my spot, sometimes I’m going to have a good game, not a good game,” he said. “Sometimes I’m going to play well, sometimes I’m not going to play well.
“Like I don’t try always to be this perfect guy. You cannot be perfect. Especially when you play the game. You cannot always be perfect. It’s human performance. Human performance means that you’re gonna make mistakes! Nobody; you cannot be perfect. You’re going to miss free throws, you’re gonna air ball free throws.
“But like, can you be OK? How can you be OK with yourself? And I think I’ve got to a level where I’m just OK with myself, you know? But that doesn’t mean that I’m not competitive. That doesn’t mean there’s no pressure. You want to win. I want to win. I play to win. But, if this guy (next to me) has 35 points in the fourth quarter and I have zero, I’m OK with it, because at the end of the day the goal is to win.”
I believe that’s what they call maturity.
At the end of the day, however, there is still one most important thing on Antetokounmpo’s mind — a singular goal that he shares with Lillard:
“I’m here to win. I don’t care,” he said, emphatically hitting each syllable. “We don’t make the rules in winning. We don’t create the best circumstances in winning. Sometimes you win in a way that you might not like, you know, but it doesn’t matter. I’m here to win.
“And if a guy like Dame can help us be successful and help us win — which I think he’s going to help us to do that — I’m OK with myself, man.”
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