Bucks’ Damian Lillard Issues Warning to NBA on Matchup Nightmare With Giannis Antetokounmpo

Damian Lillard laid out the reality of how difficult attempting to guard him and Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Bucks is going to be.

Damian Lillard’s first few days as a member of the Bucks have provided a number of comments that added even more hype behind arguably the league’s best duo, as he joins Giannis Antetokounmpo. But the latest quote from Lillard falls under the category of him “saying what everyone was thinking,” as the 33-year-old broke down just how brutal it could be for NBA teams to defend Milwaukee this season.

The short version of Lillard’s evaluation is that defenses will have to choose whether to attempt to clog the paint and stop Antetokounmpo from dunking “every time” or keep him from making “nine threes.” Pick your poison.

New Milwaukee Bucks duo Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard could prove to be a deadly combination :: Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports

“Teams are going to give [Giannis] attention. They're not gonna allow this dude to come downhill and just dunk every time, because that's what’d happened ... so it's two on the ball and you popping back to open threes, and I'm a sniper,” Lillard told reporters.

“So even if his usage is the same or mine is not as much, I’m still going to be able to position myself to have opportunities to be effective. And it might not look like usage. It just might look like—which one are you going to do? You going to clog up the paint, or are you going to allow me to make nine threes?”

“They’re not gonna allow [Giannis] to come downhill and just dunk every time… Which one are you gonna do? Are you gonna clog up the paint or are you gonna allow me to make 9 threes?”

Damian Lillard on playing with Giannis Antetokounmpo 👀

(via @Bucks)pic.twitter.com/XkCaebl3Zv

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 5, 2023

It’s hard to argue with Lillard’s comments, and he detailed it incredibly well. Considering Lillard shot 37.1% or better from three-point range in three of the past four seasons while being the focal point for opposing defenses, the idea of him getting even a split second longer to get a shot up has to be a scary proposition for opponents.

A similar sentiment can be said about Antetokounmpo, who’s shot 55.3% or better from the field in each of the past five seasons and hasn’t gone a full year shooting below 50% since 2014–15. That year marked his second in the NBA and even then, Antetokounmpo shot 49.1% from the field. The Greek Freak has also averaged north of 26.9 points in six consecutive seasons and is fresh off a 2022–23 campaign in which he posted a career-best 31.1 points per game.