Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo Issues Firm Declaration on Damian Lillard: ‘This Is His Team’

The longtime face of the Milwaukee Bucks franchise was as blunt as possible on the team’s outlook.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has proven time and again that the most important thing to him is winning. Although it’s a common theme among elite NBA players, the latest comment from the Milwaukee Bucks star about teammate Damian Lillard put his selflessness on full display.

During a recent interview, Antetokounmpo discussed the importance of Lillard’s embracing Milwaukee as “his team.” And from the sound of it, Antetokounmpo also appears ready for as much “Dame Time” as possible.

“I am his biggest fan,” Antetokounmpo said, via The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. “Good or bad, I ride with Dame until the f—ing end. I ride with Dame. Like I’ve been saying this over and over again. This. Is. His. Team. Down the stretch, he’s going to get the ball. There’s nothing else that we will do. I don’t know how else to put it. I don’t know what else to say.

“But at the end of the day, he has to believe it, too.”

Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo have the Milwaukee Bucks in third place in the Eastern Conference at the All-Star break / Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

It’s one thing to show the willingness to take a back seat to another star player. It’s another thing entirely, though, for the face of the franchise, who’s been with the team since it drafted him in 2013, to hand the keys over to a player acquired just this past offseason.

Antetokounmpo, Lillard and the Bucks sit as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, holding a 35-21 record at the NBA All-Star break.