It wasn’t until late in the offseason that Damian Lillard officially joined the Milwaukee Bucks last summer. As such, the seven-time All-NBA guard was unable to put in a full offseason of work alongside new superstar teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo.
This summer is going to be different, though. Dame and Giannis now have a few months to get themselves ready for what they expect to be a much more successful second season together.
According to Antetokounmpo, this is exactly what he intends to do as soon as he gets over his injury.
Milwaukee Bucks News: Giannis Antetokounmpo Heading to Portland
Apparently, Antetokounmpo has his summer all planned out already. It all starts with him recovering from the calf injury that forced him to sit out what was a short-lived postseason run for the Bucks. As soon as he’s ready, the former back-to-back MVP plans to fly out to Portland:
“After I’m done with my rehab in a few weeks, I’ll probably go down to Portland and spend time with Dame,” Antetokounmpo said of his early offseason plans, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “That’s pretty much it. Go work out together, talk, sit down, just spend time. It doesn’t have to be basketball. Just spend time together. I’ve done it with Khris in 11 years. I’ve done it with Brook. It’s just what you gotta do. Spend time with Coach Doc talking about basketball, talking about strategy, things we can do better as a team.”
‘Get Accustomed Together’
As Antetokounmpo said, it doesn’t have to be all about basketball. Naturally, these two will spend countless hours in the gym together trying to master their craft. However, Giannis’ main objective in his trip to Portland is to be able to bond with Lillard:
“Just spending time together, getting to know one another, get accustomed together as we move forward,” Antetokounmpo said of the goal of that time. “That’s going to be the most important thing because we know when it comes back, we are going to spend six, seven, eight months together. But how can we do that, how can the team come together, how can me and Dame, me and Doc, me and Khris – ‘cause I see these guys, I’m tired of seeing these guys – with everybody come closer. Kind of start earlier.”
We saw great things from Giannis and Lillard in their first season together in Milwaukee. Just imagine how good this superstar pairing will be after they spend a full offseason together.
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