Year 1 with the Milwaukee Bucks did not exactly pan out as expected for Damian Lillard. He came to Milwaukee to win a championship alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, but ultimately, his debut season with the Bucks ended with a familiar first-round exit in the NBA Playoffs.
Despite the rather rocky start, the Bucks brass remain adamant that Lillard is the best player to pair alongside Antetokounmpo. The front office is also confident that there’s nowhere to go but up for the eight-time All-Star.
Milwaukee Bucks News: Jon Horst Sounds Off on What Damian Lillard Brings to the Table
It’s a known fact that Lillard is one of the top point guards in the game today. The mere fact that he was named as part of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team is a clear testament to the notion that Dame is one of the best to ever do it.
For general manager Jon Horst, however, Lillard brings so much more to the table on top of than his elite skills. According to the high-ranking Bucks exec, what makes Dame so valuable is his unbridled leadership qualities.
“I think the other thing is Dame is an incredible mentor, professional, leader in this league. Well-respected, well-renowned for what he brings to an organization,” Horst told Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “He led an entire organization for the majority of his career up until last season and so he’s taking active steps this year to continue to grow in that way with us also.
“That’s not just something that happens overnight. He and Giannis and Khris and Brook and Doc, myself, we all have to figure out what that looks like, what our roles are in leading this organization. And so he’s unquestionably had a significantly positive impact in those areas as a leader as well. And he’ll be even better this year than he was last year, just because he’s going to be more familiar. He’s going to understand what his role is and how he fits in that way as well.”
Now that Lillard has had a full offseason with Giannis and the rest of the squad, Horst is confident that things will be much better in Year 2 — not just for Dame, but for the entire team as well.
“So I just think, we’ve gotta be healthy, you gotta have talent, obviously, and you’ve gotta have luck,” Horst said. “That’s always the case. I put our talent up against anybody. We’ve got to get our health up there with everybody and we got to be a little bit lucky, but, I’m very, very positive and bullish on this team with all the factors behind it.”
Bucks fans will find out soon enough if this optimism from their head honcho is warranted.
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