There was no denying that the 2023-24 NBA season for the Milwaukee Bucks fell way short of people’s expectations. The Bucks had the fearsome duo of Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who are both going to be in the Basketball Hall of Fame. But all the Bucks mustered in the first season of the Lillard-Antetokounmpo tandem was a 49-win campaign — and a first-round exit in the 2024 NBA Playoffs at the hands of the Indiana Pacers.
Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard reveals his message to Giannis Antetokoumpo during 2024 NBA Playoffs
During that series, the Bucks struggled with injuries. In Game 4, the two superstars were both sidelined by injuries. Recently, Lillard revealed one thing he told to Antetokounmpo that sums up the improvement they both need to have for their partnership to work.
“And I think we’ve had plenty of conversations about stuff like that, but I think once it got later in the season, we started to have more and more,” Lillard said, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “And then, at one point in the playoffs, I think it was maybe Game 4 in Indiana, we both missed that game. Everybody went out to warm up, and me and him were the only two people in the locker room. And I just told him, ‘I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but me and you gotta get connected. We gotta get something done,’” added the eight-time NBA All-Star.
“And he agreed. And once he agreed, the conversation went a whole different way after that. It became a much more open conversation. From there, it just went into the summer and communication. And I think that’s more important than us getting on the court, working out together and all that stuff.”
The importance of the chemistry between Antetokounmpo and Lillard on and off the court to the Bucks can’t be understated, so it’s good for Milwaukee that its superstars are constantly working on improving their partnership this offseason.
The Bucks will kick off their 2024-25 season on Oct. 23 against the new-look Philadelphia 76ers on the road.
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