Giannis Antetokounmpo had started a tradition in Milwaukee two years ago of gifting his latest signature sneakers to his teammates. This year, Damian Lillard has decided to carry forward this tradition, dishing out the recently released Dame 9s to all the players and staff members at the training facility.
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Everybody graciously accepted Lillard’s gift…even the players contractually signed with rival shoe brands. Even Antetokounmpo took the shoes gleefully despite having six signature shoes with Nike. In fact, he was too ecstatic to receive the free pair of Adidas shoes.
“Hey, free shoes! Free shoes is free shoes, my brother. I don’t care, man,” Antetokounmpo said smiling ear to ear. That’s honestly the greatest promo the German brand could have hoped for.
Some Dame Dolla love. ⌚️ x /// pic.twitter.com/R9QvWWAzXB
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 7, 2024
As seen in the clip, the Greek Freak didn’t outright name the brand. But Nike wouldn’t be too amused with their star athlete posing with a rival brand’s shoe box.
The two-time MVP wasn’t be too bothered by all this, however. He was just returning Dame the favor as the latter accepted the Freak 5s last year.
Additionally, the Bucks really need their two star athletes to build their chemistry.
Antetokounmpo and Lillard have built a strong bond
Ahead of the 2024-2025 season, Lillard shed light on this improved relationship with the Milwaukee side and revealed how players made active efforts to achieve the same.
“He’s [Giannis] not a super talkative person and I’m not a super talkative person myself… I think as the season went on, me and him definitely started to talk more and more, and I started to come to his house to do conditioning or work out together.”
“We’re on the phone. I’m sending him clips and stuff like that. And this summer, we’ve been in constant communication. We both know that we need each other,” Lillard said.
Sadly, their improved chemistry has not yet translated into success for Doc Rivers and co. While both players are putting up terrific performances, averaging a combined 58.6 points per game, the Bucks have had a horrendous 2-6 start to the season.
The front office will hope that the two can lead the team out of their current rut and jump up several spots on the standings before things get too late.
