Giannis Antetokounmpo hands Damian Lillard the Milwaukee thrown: ‘This is his team’

Giannis Antetokounmpo has only played for one franchise in his professional career, and it’s been like this for the past 11 seasons since 2013. Despite him leading the Milwaukee pack throughout the years and even conquered the 2021 NBA championship, he believes that teammate Damian Lillard is the new chief of the Wisconsin squad. 

This is the Bucks forward proving time and time again that he only cares about winning, and shinning individually isn’t his main priority. Despite the fact that most team’s co-stars dedicate praise to each other in the modern NBA, Giannis’ latest comments just go to show his selflessness on full display.

In a recent interview, The Greek Freak talked about how crucial Lillard’s arrival has been for the Milwaukee squad, and how he’s embracing it as “his team.” Antetokounmpo just hopes his teammate can inspire as many “Dame Time” moments as possible.

Giannis says the Bucks are going to win a championship with Damian Lillard

"We traded Jrue Holiday, I won't say I didn't like it because Damian Lillard is now my teammate and with him we're going to win the championship, but my best friend leaving, who was living two minutes… pic.twitter.com/1hYUcQujnM

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 21, 2024

“I am his biggest fan,” he told the press. “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.”

Respecting a coach’s process seems to be one of the best moves for a healthy team, even though sometimes squads need to be shaken up from their core in order to react positively on the basketball court. However, the Milwaukee franchise has had four head coaches in the past six months, and their players are starting to suffer the consequences.

During this past All-Star Weekend, the star was also asked about all the events that have occurred behind the scenes with these modifications, and he admitted that it has been “hard” to deal with them.

“It’s hard. It’s hard. This is my fourth coach in the span of six months,” the forward revealed. “Coach (Mike Budenholzer), coach (Adrian Griffin), (interim) coach Joe (Prunty) and Doc. Different philosophy, different game plan. It’s hard. It’s draining.”

The Greek Freak admits he’s tried his best to adapt. “I’m a student of the game. When somebody asks me to do something, I try to do it to the best of my ability,” he expressed. “I try to understand what we’re trying to accomplish, both so I can understand and so I can be there for my teammates when they ask questions.”

Doc Rivers reveals he questioned Bucks if they made right decision by firing Adrian Griffin

I don’t think anyone expected Milwaukee to fire first-year coach Adrian Griffin midway through the current campaign, especially considering he had led the Wisconsin franchise to the Eastern Conference’s second spot. Since last month, he was replaced by Doc Rivers who has coached the team for 10 games already.

In a recent interview on Tuesday, the veteran tactician revealed that he was also confused over the Bucks’ decision to move on from a rather successful coach and even dared to question the organization before accepting his new role.

“Personally, I’ll be honest, I told ownership when they called, ‘I don’t understand why you’re doing this,’” Doc said about Milwaukee parting ways with Griffin. “One of the things they said was, ‘Well, it doesn’t matter, we’ve done it now, and we want you.’ And so that was a tough one, that’s where the hesitation...”

As the Bucks have struggled this past month, some fans and experts believe that Rivers never takes accountability for his mistakes, and always finds excuses to deflect his poor decisions. One of them was his former pupil JJ Redick, who went after the coach on ESPN. “I’ve seen the trend, I’ve seen the trend for years,” he said.