This Milwaukee BucksLike many elite teams in the NBA, it is fortunate to have a number of All-Stars and superstars on its roster. The defending NBA champion Boston Celtics boast stars like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday. The Philadelphia 76ers recently acquired Paul George to pair with Joel Embiid.
In the Western Conference, former Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer’s Phoenix Suns boast Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. The Los Angeles Lakers, coached by former Bucks point guard JJ Reddick, have LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
If anything has become clear over the past few seasons, it’s that NBA teams that truly want to compete for a championship need more than one elite player. When the Bucks won in 2021, they had Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton. Although Middleton didn’t make the All-Star team this season, he was named an All-Star the previous two years and did so again the following season.
Milwaukee Bucks need to find balance between Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo
Last offseason, the Bucks traded Holiday and Grayson Allen to acquire Damian Lillard, who, like Giannis, is a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. Before the trade, Giannis and Lillard had each listed the other superstar they most wanted to work with, believing their games would complement each other perfectly and make their team very arduous to beat.
That conclusion, however, was based on the assumption that they would have enough time to prepare and learn each other’s tendencies. Because the trade happened so close to the start of training camp, the two superstars didn’t have the opportunity to do so.
The effect of such a tiny preparation time Together in the 2023-24 NBA regular season was that the two stars often couldn’t figure out the best ways to play together. While there were plenty of reasons why the Bucks didn’t dominate the regular season and ultimately make the NBA playoffs, Giannis and Lillard weren’t able to build chemistry in the offseason, which certainly hurt the on-court product.
One thing they both struggled with was figuring out what their own roles were on the team. While they were never at odds, it was clear that neither knew how to best play with the other. Neither wanted to outshine the other, and both argued that the other was the best option in attack.
Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard reveals the lesson he learned from watching Devin Booker at the Olympics
In 2021, Lillard was a key member of the U.S. men’s basketball team that won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but he did not play this year in order to stay fit and rested for the upcoming season.
But he watched the games and learned one vital lesson from watching Suns star Devin Booker, who took on a supporting role on the gold-medal team this year.
Damian Lillard to @RSaenzFox10 on why he could operate Suns’ Devin Booker’s humility as a superstar but his willingness to be a reserve player for Team USA as an educational tool at Lillard’s Formula Zero Elite camp. photo:twitter.com/4LOLSH7PxH
— DANA (@iam_DanaScott) August 16, 2024
“I think anytime you look at a guy who’s an NBA superstar, is humble enough and has a winning mentality, you know, he’s a star among stars. Not everybody can be a star. Not everybody can have the ball. Not everybody can score, you know, somebody has to be willing to play a role and contribute to the end goal.”
“And watching the game, I thought it was pretty obvious he came into it with that attitude.”
Lillard is using Booker’s example to teach juvenile players at a camp he’s currently running, but he’ll be taking that lesson into the upcoming season as well.
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