Damian Lillard: Guard traded from Portland Trail Blazers to Milwaukee Bucks to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo
Seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard is being traded by Portland to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee in a deal that ends a three-month saga over his future.
Lillard is moving from the Trail Blazers to the Bucks in a three-team deal that sends Jrue Holiday from the Bucks to Portland, Deandre Ayton from Phoenix to Portland and Jusuf Nurkic from the Blazers to the Suns.
Lillard’s acquisition comes after Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP, said he wanted to see how committed the Bucks are toward winning another championship before deciding whether to sign a long-term deal to remain in Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo’s contract runs through the 2024/25 season, with a player option for 2025/26.
Lillard, 33, has played his entire 11-year career with Portland, which drafted him No. 6 overall in the 2012 NBA Draft.
He averaged a franchise-record 32.2 points per game in 2022-23, the third-highest mark in the league, but Portland finished 33-49 and missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
Lillard was named one of the NBA’s 75 Greatest Players of All Time in 2021, won Rookie of the Year honors in 2012-13 and made All-NBA teams seven times.
He is Portland’s career leader in points (19,376) and 3-point field goals made (2,387).
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Lillard hit this three-pointer to win the All-Star game for Team Giannis against Team LeBron
His game-winning shot to eliminate Oklahoma City from the 2019 NBA playoffs — a step-back to Paul George from nearly 40 feet as time expired — is one of the iconic postseason moments in not only Portland history , but also in the history of the NBA. .