'It Was a Great Experience:' Damian Lillard Talks About What It Was Like Playing With Giannis Antetokounmpo on Milwaukee Bucks

Damian Lillard spoke to NBA reporter Jim Owczarki of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about what it was like playing with Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Milwaukee Bucks.

Lillard and Antetokounmpo were teammates for two seasons on the Bucks.

“I thought it was a great experience, man,” Lillard said. “It was a great experience. I think more than anything just the luxury of playing with a player as great as him. And having those nights where I can show up and he’s gonna carry a lot of the load and he might be feeling it that night and we can win a game with me scoring 12 points.

“So just the luxury of having him on your team was a special thing. And also going into games and knowing like, no matter what happens I’m playing with a dude where we can combine and beat anybody. As a tandem, we can go out here and we can actually; how people say ‘man, one person can’t beat a team,’ like, ‘he ain’t gonna beat you by himself,’ or you might be able to beat a team on a back-to-back at home or have a big game and they just can’t stop you, I’ve done that plenty of times.”

The Bucks went 73-43 in the regular season when Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo were in the lineup.

However, Milwaukee lost to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2024 and 2025 playoffs.

The Bucks waived Lillard, who signed a three-year, $42 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard tore his left Achilles tendon in the 2025 playoffs. He will miss all of next season.

Milwaukee waived and stretched Lillard, who was slated to make $113 million over the next two seasons with the Bucks. That amount will be stretched over the next five seasons.

“But it was great playing with him,” Lillard said. “It was truly a pleasure and a luxury to play with a guy that dominant and also a guy who cares that much. I think that was something I really appreciated. I’m a guy who cares, even when I’m mad, even when I’m not doing well, I care about the team doing well and I put everything I can into that – how I take care of my body, how I train and prepare.

“I do everything I can to position myself and the team to do well and he’s a guy that does all of those things with the same edge and worry. That was something I really appreciated, too.”