Damian Lillard recently made an appearance on the Knuckleheads podcast, where he spoke to Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles about many topics. One of the several topics that were brought up during the episode was regarding the “Freak 5” shoes that Giannis Antetokounmpo gifted to every member of the Milwaukee Bucks organization.
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Before the 2023-2024 campaign tipped off, Giannis Antetokounmpo surprised every player and staff of the Milwaukee Bucks with their own pair of “Freak 5” shoes. Of course, even Damian Lillard was gifted a pair. Now, the hosts of the Knuckleheads podcast wondered what Dame, being an Adidas-signed athlete, did with the Nike sneakers.
Being extremely honest, Lillard revealed that he hadn’t taken the Greek Freak’s gift back home. The pair of shoes are still lying in his locker room.
“I ain’t gon lie, man. They still in my locker right now. I ain’t took them home yet,” Dame disclosed.
In order to justify himself, the sharpshooter then mentioned that he would get Antetokounmpo to sign the shoes. Once the gift has been signed, Lillard promises to hang them up at his place. However, he did make sure to display his loyalty towards Adidas.
“But I’m going to get him to get them signed and imma hang them up. But I’m three stripes, I don’t crossover,” Dame said.
Damian Lillard cannot wear Giannis Antetokounmpo’s gift
Of course, Giannis gave one pair of his new signature shoes to Damian Lillard as a gift. However, being signed by Adidas – Nike’s longtime rival – Lillard is not allowed to wear the shoes.
Back in 2014, the star guard agreed to a 10-year deal with Adidas worth almost $100 million. Since representing Adidas, Lillard has been blessed with 10 signature shoes. Lillard’s shoe line has been a huge hit among basketball enthusiasts, allowing Adidas to make huge profits.
Unfortunately, Lillard cannot fully enjoy the gift his new teammate surprised him with. However, this is a practice that Antetokounmpo won’t be stopping anytime soon. While he handed out his “Freak 5” signature shoes to every member of the franchise this year, last year, it was the “Freak 4” shoes that were given to everybody.
While Dame won’t enjoy the gifts as much, other members of the Bucks will only hope for their leader to continue this tradition. If the two-time MVP keeps this tradition alive, he could be handing out the “Freak 6” shoes next year.
