Milwaukee Bucks’ new boy Damian Lillard is on the first year of a 4-year, $176,000,000 deal that he signed with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Dame will be 38 years old by the time he enters the final year of the deal, and will earn a whopping $63,228,828 that year, according to Sportrac. While he missed the majority of the 2021-22 season owing to a knee surgery, but has since returned to his best. And now, he has opened up regarding people criticizing him for injuries.
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Now traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, he recently talked about his injury history, according to Sports Illustrated. The 34-year-old hit back at critics who call him injury-prone, claiming that he has given people no chance to question his fitness. Claiming that he would be moving and shooting the same way as he does now, Dame claimed that he had shown no signs of slowing down.
Damian Lillard hits back at critics who call him injury-prone
While nobody will be questioning Lillard’s ability, he will be 38 by the time he enters the final year of the current deal. The Dame will earn exactly $63,228,828 that season, which has led to claims that he might turn out to be a bust, considering the money the Bucks have spent.
However, Lillard was quick to point out that his 2021 injury was actually the only major injury of his career thus far:
“I don’t know why they would think that. I don’t live a hard life. I’ve shown no signs of slowing down. I saw people saying, Oh, he gets hurt. I wasn’t hurt last year. I was hurt the year before that. I chose to have surgery. I don’t have an injury history. There are a lot of people who have been hurt a bunch of times. I’ve been healthy my whole career. So when I see that stuff, it’s almost like they’re giving me an opportunity to show that they’re wrong. I’m going to be 38, moving the same way I move right now. I promise you. And shooting, that doesn’t go away.”
Damian Lillard guarantees that he will still be an elite player at 38 years old
“I’ve shown no signs of slowing down… I’m going to be 38, moving the same way I move right now. I promise you. And shooting, that doesn’t go away.”
(Via @SIChrisMannix ) pic.twitter.com/k6f0obW37U
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 16, 2023
Lillard was confident that he would be moving and shooting the same way as he does now. Considering the fact that he returned to his best after the major injury, there is no reason to doubt Dame.
Lillard obviously has the skills to go on for a long time, and might as well benefit from the presence of Giannis Antetokounmpo. While he has produced some of his best numbers at the age of 33, the Bucks have shown utmost faith by taking him on despite the huge numbers.
Damian Lillard missed 47 games in the 2021-22 season
Lillard has had just one major surgery in his entire career and does have a point. Dame picked up an abdominal injury that led to consistent absences during the 2021-22 season.
He eventually decided to undergo surgery and ended up playing only 29 games that season. That, in part, also revealed how heavily dependent the franchise has been on the Dame for the better part of a decade.
Since Lillard’s arrival in 2012, the 2021-22 season was the first time that the Trail Blazers ended up missing out on the Playoffs.
Of course, Lillard returned last season with what was his best-ever season in terms of average points. He had 32.2 points and 7.3 assists per game and will be expected to pull up similar numbers for the Bucks during the new campaign.
