“Don’t You Ever Leave Me Again”: Squeezing Damian Lillard For 7 Seconds, Giannis Antetokounmpo Told Dame His Toughest Game Was Without Him

The Milwaukee Bucks did face a tough challenge against the Detroit Pistons. However, Damian Lillard going off for an impressive 45-point and 11-assist double-double resulted in the Bucks grabbing a huge 141-135 win. After Lillard recorded his best performance of the season, Giannis Antetokounmpo showered his teammate with lofty praises.

Despite averaging 25 points and 6.8 assists, Damian Lillard is having a rather underwhelming performance this season. Simply put, Dame hasn’t been contributing as much as he was expected to. Even though he has only been shooting 43.1% from the field and 35.5% from the 3-point line, Giannis continues to display his faith in the multiple-time All-Star.

Following the win over the Detroit Pistons, the Greek Freak spoke about how he still expects Dame to continue to be aggressive and take up shots that he always attempts.

“Dame, like, we need you. Like we need you to play the way you played tonight. We need you to keep on leading this team, we need you to keep on being aggressive, we need you to keep on making shots, we need you to keep on making that extra pass. Even if you are denied, go get that [expletive] ball,” Giannis said.

During the 8^th January clash between the Bucks and the Utah Jazz, Lillard missed out on the contest for “personal reasons”. In that bout, despite Antetokounmpo recording a 25-point triple-double, Adrain Griffin’s boys sustained a tough 132-116 loss.

As soon as Lillard made his return to the Bucks camp, the two-time MVP revealed being the first player from the squad to welcome him. According to the Greek Freak, he greeted Dame with a tight hug. Later, Giannis admitted how the clash against the Jazz was the “toughest game he ever played in the season”. Ultimately, the forward managed to get his point across – Dame needs to be great in order for the Milwaukee side to be great.

“I went, gave him a hug, squeezing for like 7 seconds, you know, very, very, very hard and told him, I said ‘don’t you ever leave me again, man. It was horrible, it was the toughest game I ever played in the season.'”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Milwaukee Bucks (@bucks)

Ever since Dame’s return, he has shifted gears and elevated his game. In the five games, the 33-year-old has averaged 27.8 points, hit a game-winning buzzer-beater against the Kings, and lodged his season-high against the Pistons.

Antetokounmpo’s words are not wrong as the Wisconsin side looks like a much more lethal squad when Damian Lillard plays at the elite level that he is known for hooping at.

Damian Lillard is going through a divorce

During the latter stages of the 2023 calendar year, reports suggested that Damian Lillard filed for a divorce with Kay’La Hanson. Merely a few days later, Kay’La requested the sole custody of their three children – Dame Jr, and twins, Kali Emma Lee and Kalii Laheem.

According to Kay’La, she’s been the children’s “primary parent”. Whereas, Damian Lillard didn’t share the responsibilities. The Oregonian wrote:

“In her declaration filed on Oct. 6, Kay’La Lillard said she has “been the primary parent for our three children since their birth” and Damian has never been the sole parent responsible for caring for the children for extended periods without assistance.

Damian Lillard has “never been the sole parent responsible for the care of all three of our children, for any hours-long period without the help of nannies, assistants, and/or family members.”

In all probabilities, Dame was attending to his children during the personal day that he took on 8^th January. The fans of the Milwaukee Bucks can certainly expect Lillard to take a few more of these personal days to deal with the off-court issues that he’s dealing with.