{"id":120195,"date":"2024-02-03T02:51:16","date_gmt":"2024-02-03T02:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/03\/damian-lillard-cheered-in-return-to-portland-after-bucks-trade\/"},"modified":"2024-02-03T02:51:16","modified_gmt":"2024-02-03T02:51:16","slug":"damian-lillard-cheered-in-return-to-portland-after-bucks-commerce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/03\/damian-lillard-cheered-in-return-to-portland-after-bucks-commerce\/","title":{"rendered":"Damian Lillard cheered in return to Portland after Bucks commerce"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard runs off the court docket after warmups earlier than an NBA basketball sport towards the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. (AP Photo\/Steve Dykes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

PORTLAND, Oregon\u2014 Damian Lillard was greeted with a prolonged standing ovation by an appreciative Portland crowd when he was launched for Milwaukee\u2019s sport towards the Trail Blazers within the NBA on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n

Lillard, who spent 11 seasons with the Blazers and nonetheless has a house in Portland, performed his first sport within the metropolis because the offseason commerce that despatched him to the Bucks.<\/p>\n

The sellout crowd on the Moda Center feted Lillard with cheers. He responded with by applauding the followers and held up his arms in a coronary heart form earlier than his Bucks teammates danced round him.<\/p>\n

But the celebration was muted on the finish of the evening by the Blazers\u2019 119-116 shock victory over the Bucks.<\/p>\n

In a information convention earlier than the sport, Lillard mentioned his return was surreal.<\/p>\n

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Damian Lillard receives an ovation from Rip City in his return to Portland \u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\udc4f <\/p>\n

Trail Blazers-Bucks | LIVE on ESPN pic.twitter.com\/HFjFhcRcS9<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NBA (@NBA) February 1, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cEven though I knew I was coming here as a visitor, once I got to my house and took my son to school this morning, it was almost like you forget that this is road game,\u201d he mentioned to greater than three dozen reporters.<\/p>\n

Lillard mentioned he spoke that morning to former teammate CJ McCollum, who performed 9 seasons with the Blazers earlier than he was traded to New Orleans in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe called me and he was like, \u2018Hey man, embrace it. It\u2019s going to be emotional. We put our time in and we put our work in. We had moments and it was a lot of years of us giving everything we had, and we were appreciated.\u2019 When he came back, he was like, \u2018It was that moment, I felt the appreciation for everything that we put into it,\u2019\u201d Lillard mentioned.<\/p>\n

An eight-time All-Star, Lillard averaged 32.2 factors with the Blazers final season. He turned simply the seventh participant in NBA historical past to attain greater than 70 factors in a sport \u2014 that quantity has since elevated to 9 \u2014 when he completed with 71 towards the Houston Rockets final February. He averaged 25.2 factors, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.7 assists throughout his time with the Blazers.<\/p>\n

But Portland gained solely 4 playoff collection in Lillard\u2019s tenure, attending to the Western Conference Finals simply as soon as. The crew went 33-49 final season, the second consecutive yr it completed effectively exterior the playoff image.<\/p>\n

With Milwaukee, Lillard got here in averaging 25.1 factors and 6.8 assists. Last week, Milwaukee fired coach Adrian Griffin after solely 43 video games and employed veteran Doc Rivers to take over with the aim of one other NBA title in thoughts.<\/p>\n

Lillard mentioned it has been nice being a part of a crew that has \u201ctasted winning and wants to get back to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying with Giannis (Antetokounmpo) it\u2019s been great. I think playing with another top 75 players, two-time MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, championship Finals MVP, I\u2019m just able to feel what a luxury it is to have a guy as dominant as he is on floor,\u201d Lillard mentioned.<\/p>\n

He wouldn’t rule out a doable return to the Blazers sometime.<\/p>\n

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A child within the stands held an indication directed at Lillard that mentioned: \u201cGo get your ring then come back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think because of how I feel about Portland, how I feel about the organization here, my time that I spent here, in my mind I\u2019ve always felt that\u2019s how my career would end,\u201d he mentioned. \u201cRight now I\u2019m just in the space of like, this is where I am now. I\u2019m in Milwaukee. I want an opportunity to contend, and our team has an opportunity to contend this years and years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n