Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo stood together after the NBA Cup final, celebrating the win. Antetokounmpo was holding the MVP trophy, and Lillard was holding the larger trophy. It was a moment Lillard had been waiting for a long time.
Lillard has achieved a lot in his career, including being named Rookie of the Year, winning the 3-point contest, earning All-Star MVP honors, and being part of the NBA’s 75th-anniversary team. While winning an NBA championship is still his ultimate goal, he didn’t overlook the importance of winning the NBA Cup.
“I’ve had a lot of experience individually where I’ve had accomplishments and stuff,” Lillard said after the Bucks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 in the Cup final. “But to have some team success and win something and be the last team standing in this tournament, it feels great.”
The Bucks have a championship-winning coach in Doc Rivers, along with key players from the 2021 title team, such as Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, and Pat Connaughton, as well as one of the league’s top guards in Lillard. Despite a rough start to the season, with records of 1-6 and 2-8, the Bucks remained confident and never lost faith in themselves.
Since their slow start, the Bucks have been one of the hottest teams in the league, finishing the in-season tournament with a perfect 7-0 record. Winning the NBA Cup serves as a reminder—possibly unnecessary—of the Bucks’ potential.
“I think it reminds us that we can beat anybody,” Rivers said. “And we don’t care if it tells everybody else that. We only care about us. It’s what I said on the first day of camp. I also said we can lose to anybody if we don’t play right.”
Antetokounmpo and Lillard are leading the team, which is no surprise.
Both are playing at their usual All-Star level, and they are the highest-scoring duo in the league, combining for more than 58 points per game. In the NBA Cup final, they were the best two players on the floor, with Antetokounmpo earning a triple-double—26 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists—to win the MVP award, while Lillard scored 23 points.
The first year of their partnership, after Lillard joined the Bucks from Portland, wasn’t perfect. It was good, but not great. Year 2 is showing clear improvement, giving a glimpse of what’s to come for the Bucks.
“People wanted to put me with Giannis and think it was just going to be perfect right away because we’ve both been high-level players,” Lillard said. “But I come from a situation where I’ve always had the ball, and he’s had a decade of him having the ball and playing a certain way.
“I think time is the No. 1 thing,” he added. “It just took time for us to get to know each other better as people. You can’t just trust somebody that you’re paired with when you don’t really know who they are, how they think and how they operate. So, I think time has helped us.”
Time has also helped Lillard in his own way.
He averaged 24.3 points and 7 assists per game last year, which is impressive for almost any player. However, he didn’t feel completely comfortable with his role in a new team and a new system.
Now, he does.
“Getting healthy, getting my training in and having my mind right coming back into the season was all it really was for me,” Lillard said. “When we lost in the playoffs last year, I said it right after the game. ‘People will see.’”
And now, people are seeing the results.
There’s still a lot of the regular season left, and the Bucks will face tough challenges ahead. Cleveland, their first opponent after the break, and defending champions Boston have been the top teams in the East so far. But there will be many ups and downs along the way.
“I’m so happy for Dame that we got our first trophy together,” Antetokounmpo said. “This is just the beginning. We have to keep on improving and getting better, and we will be better.”
