Damian Lillard has spoken ad nauseum about how out of shape he was to start last season with the Milwaukee Bucks. Seems as though that won’t be the case going into 2024-25 as he’s enlisted the help of David Goggins to help him with his offseason training.
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“I don’t know what I was thinking today. I was just like, ‘What do it mean if I stop?’ I done said a lot of s— in my life. And I felt like I was going to go against everything I ever said about myself.”
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Dame has always been one to preach hard work and perseverance given that he came from Weber State and wasn’t a highly touted recruit out of high school. So, for him to say this after a single workout with Goggins means the fitness guru put him through the wringer.
Anybody who knows Goggins would know that he’s relentless in his pursuit of staying as fit as possible. His otherworldly conditioning comes not just from being able to run marathons but also from his strength in setting records for pull-ups, amongst others.
With Dame complaining about his conditioning being off last season with the Bucks, a session with David is what he probably needed. Seeing the 34-year-old sweat it out is surely a cause for concern for the rest of the league, given that even with Lillard’s conditioning issues, the Bucks were 3rd in the East.
Lillard was not in shape for his first season with the Bucks
Last offseason was a difficult one for Dame. In his professional career, he got traded for the first time, meaning he had to adjust to a whole new city, new teammates, and a new style of basketball. In his personal life, he went through a messy divorce with college sweetheart Kay’La.
The couple are still involved in a custody dispute, meaning Lillard has not been able to commit all his attention to basketball for a year. He spoke about how difficult it was adjusting to a new life all alone, saying,
“Gotta be able to pass a physical so I wasn’t able to get up and down at all, like, I didn’t play pick-up or nothing the whole summer. My first day getting up and down was the first day of training camp.”
Lillard would then go on to say that he knew he wasn’t in the right headspace mentally and not conditioned physically when he couldn’t catch a pass from Giannis Antetokounmpo without going out of bounds. “I ain’t ever did that s— before,” said Dame about the incident.
Doc Rivers revealed not too long ago that Damian promised him that he’d be in incredible shape come 2024-25. With the way he’s been grinding it out on his socials all offseason long, he might’ve kept his word.
