NBA
Damian Lillard leaves teammate Giannis off his dream starting five
Mat Issa is based in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Yes, he spells his name with one "t." He's obsessed with NBA history, so much so that he's dedicated nearly two years of research to his two mini-series', "Blazing the Trail" and "The Quest for the Best." Right now, Mat goes to law school and writes about the NBA for The Analyst, Forbes, and of course, Basketball Insiders. His work has also been featured in ESPN, SB Nation, FanSided, Basketball News, ONE37pm, and Raptors Republic. Also, he's a lifelong Spartans fan. Go Green!
All posts by Mat IssaUpdated20 Feb 2024
Despite the game itself rapidly declining in terms of ratings, All-Star weekend does produce a lot of great content. And, of course, the game’s best rapper, Damian Lillard (aka Dame D.O.L.L.A), had to contribute to the social sound bite. Unfortunately, what he said could be a little bit concerning for fans of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Dame’s Dream Starting Five
The Bucks stumbled into the All-Star break on a sour note. First, their rookie signal caller Adrian Griffin was dishonorably discharged, and seasoned veteran Doc Rivers was brought in to take his place. Then, Milwaukee lost seven of their last ten games heading into the break. So, it is safe to say that the state of the union wasn’t all peaches and roses before this weekend.
These pieces of information are what make this TikTok clip from @nelsontheprodigy particularly worrisome. In the video, he was asked what his dream starting five would be.
Damian Lillard reveals his dream starting 5 👀
🔹 Damian LIllard
🔹 Steph Curry
🔹 LeBron James
🔹 Kevin Durant
🔹 Bam AdebayoThoughts? 🤔
(via nelsontheprodigy_/TT)pic.twitter.com/CEf6MgZ6Xy
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 20, 2024
As the tweet above shows, Lillard answered by saying himself (obviously), Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Bam Adebayo.
That is a damn good starting five, and if any NBA team boasted his lineup, they would surely be the frontrunner to win it all. But one can’t help but notice the omission of one Giannis Antetokounmpo. Given all the problems we mentioned above (and the wonky fit between Lillard and Antetokounmpo), fans can’t help but speculate that Lillard’s answer may mean more than it appears on the surface.
Look At All The Angles
Yes, it is odd that Lillard didn’t include Antetokounmpo. But he also didn’t include any of his Milwaukee teammates. On top of that, he didn’t include either of the last two MVPs (Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid). The same goes for other stars like Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Anthony Davis. Why aren’t we fixating on any of these names?
At the end of the day, Lillard was asked a question on the spot, with no preparation, and he listed some great players that he knows he would love to play alongside. Yes, it is a little strange that Lillard didn’t include Antetokounmpo. But we need to be careful not to turn this into a bigger deal than it needs to be.
