“How Could You Ever Leave a Child Behind as a Father?”: Damian Lillard, In the Midst of a Custody Battle, Shows Love to His Children

Before the 2023–24 season kicked off, the Bucks were the third favorite to take home the championship. Fast forward to last September, and a blockbuster Lillard trade saw the team’s chances skyrocket to first place, as per ‘Fan Duels’ odds rankings. While fans were high on the Bucks’ chances, the team’s regular season performance wasn’t on par with expectations, and some blame does fall on Damian Lillard. Lillard’s hiccups throughout the season have led some to speculate that the Bucks guard might be dealing with some off-court drama affecting his performance on the floor.

With Giannis and the remainder of the roster dealing with injuries, it was expected that Dame Time would show up to save the day, but it never happened. The rumors might be right.

Throughout the 2023–24 season, the 6’2″ guard was embroiled in a custody battle with his now-divorced wife, Kay’la Lillard. While the couple share three children, they cited the “irreconcilable difference” among them as the basis for their filings. As of now, the court hasn’t provided any ruling, as Kay’la moved the motion for full custody in October last year.

After Lillard filed for divorce, Kay’la said, “It is in the children’s best interests that I be awarded sole custody. I am best positioned to address the ongoing needs of our minor children. I have been responsible for the children’s care since their birth.”

As the custody battle rages on, the Bucks guard was recently seen conducting his fatherly duties. He posted a picture of his youngest son Kalii on his Instagram story, captioning it,

“How could you leave a child behind as a father.” 

The now-divorced duo share three kids, Damian Jr., age 5, and twins Kalii and Kali, age 2. Throughout his 12-year career in the league, Lillard has maintained a sparkling, clean image, being considered a family man.

But that has come into question after the duo split, with some people even linking the Bucks star to a popular rap artist, who also recently took a dig at the 32-year-old.

Rapper Glorilla shoots her shot at Dame Dolla 

The American rapper Glorilla, on the ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast with the NFL legend Shannon Sharpe, was asked about her diss at the Bucks superstar. The 24-year-old didn’t deny any of Sharpe’s assertions. Considering that Lillard was single, at the time, there is a lot of uncertainty around this.

Lillard quickly shut down rumors when asked about the same, as he decided to leave the matter at “no comments”. But the rapper might have sneakily claimed to have gotten her way, as Sharpe called “buckets” on her attempt at Lillard.

The entire fiasco began when Glorilla posted a picture of her alongside Damian Lillard at the All-Star weekend on February 19th on her X (formerly Twitter) account. She captioned the post, “Who n***a this is? Cause I want him #GetEmGlo”. The rapper would then follow it up with a reply to her post, alleging that she could stand her ground against Lillard’s Bea, regardless of his status.

While speculations exist about what happened between Lillard and Glorilla, the entire situation remains rather low-key, as does everything else in Lillard’s personal life.

Moving forward, the Bucks guard will probably look to work on his game and rehab his injuries, as the Milwaukee side will look to avenge their first-round exit. Moreover, now, he has all the time to get back with his kids and spend quality time.