Tag: Damian Lillard

Explaining Damian Lillard’s unorthodox water ball workout that went viral

Damian Lillard did a really weird workout recently with a big water ball. What was it exactly?

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Damian Lillard picked a very unique way to work out his core during a recent gym session.

A video shows Lillard holding a big ball filled with water, shaking it around and around like he’s mixing it up to pour in a martini glass.

It’s also kind of like the first motions an old-school washing machine makes as it’s sorting out the clothes with the sudsy water.

Either way, this is not typically the type of workout you see someone engaging in at the YMCA, as Lillard seemed to be thinking very outside of the box as he strengthened his body in the very unorthodox routine.

From our research, it looks like Lillard is using an aqua bag to strengthen his core. You can see examples of aqua bag workouts, ones that look similar to the ones that Lillard engaged with recently.

Basically, while this is a very out-of-left-field workout, it’s not uncommon!

We’re curious if aqua bags will spike in popularity as Lillard uses one to ready himself for the NBA playoffs this month.

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Damian Lillard traveled to Chicago to watch Bulls play Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard was at the United Center to watch the Chicago Bulls play the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Chicago Bulls welcomed the Portland Trail Blazers to town on Monday night. A little under two hours north of the United Center are the Milwaukee Bucks and Damian Lillard, who has a long-standing connection to the Trail Blazers. So, on Monday night, Lillard made the trek down to Chicago to watch the Bulls take on his former team.

This past summer was dominated by the Lillard trade saga, as it was clear that his time in Portland had come to an end. He originally requested to the Miami Heat, but after those plans failed to come to fruition, the Trail Blazers moved him to the Bucks. But he still clearly has a lot of love for the organization.

The House of Highlights YouTube channel posted a video of Lillard pulling up to the United Center to watch the Trail Blazers play the Bulls.

Chicago ended the night with a win, taking down Portland by a score of 110-107.

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Damian Lillard hit TWO half-court 3-pointers before winning MVP of the All-Star Game

Dame is absolutely limitless.

After winning the 2024 NBA 3-point contest, Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard had the highlight of the night in the All-Star Game.

The eight-time All-Star, who was named to the All-Star starting lineup during his first season playing in the Eastern Conference, was outstanding during his time in Indiana.

Lillard, who is known for his limitless range as a 3-point shooter, proved it once again during the All-Star Game by casually pulling up for a shot from halfcourt. He made it look too easy.

UPDATE: Later during the second half, Lillard (who was named MVP of the 2024 All-Star Game) hit another half-court shot.

This was the second:

What are the highest scoring NBA All-Star games in league history?

The 2024 NBA All-Star Game set the record for the highest combined scoring total at halftime in All-Star Game history. 

The 2024 NBA All-Star Game set the record for the highest combined scoring total at halftime in All-Star Game history.

During the first half, the Eastern Conference scored 104 points while the West scored 89. For comparison, that means the East scored more points in one half than they did in the entire game in four consecutive years between 1953 and 1956.

How does this massive scoring performance between the two teams at the All-Star Game compare to other high marks in league history, though? Of course, the final score (211-186) took the pole position.

After returning to the old format of East vs. West and removing the Elam ending, all records broke. This wasn’t exactly a surprise considering even before 2024, nine of the highest-scoring NBA All-Star Games had occurred within the last 10 seasons.

Here are the updated highest-scoring totals that the NBA has ever seen in an All-Star Game:

Fans criticized refs for allowing 3-point contest participants to shoot with their feet on the line

If fans are betting on who wins, these rules need to get enforced.

For the second year in a row, Damian Lillard won the NBA’s 3-point contest. But it didn’t come without its moments of controversy.

Even after the competition was over and Lillard was crowned champion, the Bucks star point guard acknowledged that the refs were not exactly showing a lot of due diligence during the competition.

He said that while he saw referees on the court, he noticed that they weren’t enforcing the rules of the contest.

While the participants may have found themselves a bit distracted by the fancy LED court at Lucas Oil Stadium, the refs had more responsibility to not count the shots that were taken while players had their feet on the line.

Especially if fans are betting on who wins this competition, long 2-pointers shouldn’t count and these rules need to be enforced.

NBA 3-Point Contest 2024 lineup: Players, format, rules and tiebreakers

The eight players who will vie for the 3-Point Contest crown on Saturday night, plus the rules and format.

NBA All-Star Weekend is coming up in Indianapolis, and that means the return of one of everyone’s favorite festivities: the annual 3-Point Contest.

The 2024 edition is set for Saturday night with the broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. The 3-Point Contest will be the second event of the night following the Skills Challenge. As with all the events, it will be held inside Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis.

A total of eight NBA players have been selected to participate in this year’s 3-Point Challenge, and the field includes the defending champion, Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard.

Here’s the full field of competitors that will challenge Lillard for the three-point crown on Saturday night, plus the rules and format:

Patrick Beverley vs. Damian Lillard: A timeline of the feud

Patrick Beverley has been traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, joining forces with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo with the goal of winning a championship. Beverley, however, has a history with Lillard. A beef that goes all the way back to 2013. …

Patrick Beverley has been traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, joining forces with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo with the goal of winning a championship.

Beverley, however, has a history with Lillard. A beef that goes all the way back to 2013. We take you down memory lane to explain their rivalry.

NBA fans recalled Damian Lillard’s awkward beef with Patrick Beverley now that they’re Bucks teammates

The NBA is the best soap opera.

The Milwaukee Bucks needed to make a deal at the NBA trade deadline to improve their atrocious defense. Anyone who could improve their point-of-attack defense and take some heat off Damian Lillard defensively would’ve been welcome. They settled on Patrick Beverley, a notorious agitator known for his defensive prowess, and he will now likely start next to Lillard.

There’s just one problem for Lillard and Beverley as they try to pursue a Bucks title: They seemingly don’t like each other. Or at least, they haven’t always liked each other.

The most famous recent instance of this duo’s beef might be when they got chippy during a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers in January 2023. After going at it with Lillard all night, Beverley corrected a reporter for not properly crediting his defense on the star guard during his postgame press conference.

Lillard caught wind of the comments and responded with some heated words for the defender on Twitter:

Oof. Yeah, that’s a lot to unpack for two guys that will have to work in concert now. For what it’s worth, according to a statement released through Chris Haynes, Lillard is ready to set aside his beef with Beverley for the greater good.

We’ll see how this duo gels in time for the Bucks’ stretch run. They’re both talented professionals in pursuit of grander goals together, so it’s not unbelievable to think they’d be good teammates. But it’s still impossible to ignore how they’ve butted heads in the past.

The Bucks owe around $18 million to three head coaches this season, which is historically high

This is quite a financial hit for the Bucks.

The Milwaukee Bucks have moved on multiple head coaches since last season and now they will have three on their payroll at the same time.

Milwaukee parted ways with both Mike Budenholzer and his successor, Adrian Griffin, after just 43 games. The Bucks will replace Griffin with Doc Rivers, who served as an informal consultant to his predecessor.

Regardless of whether or not Rivers was the right choice to lead Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, this aggressive decision to change head coaches yet again won’t come cheap for Milwaukee’s ownership group.

According to Shams Charania, the Bucks will pay Rivers $40 million through 2026-27. That is already fairly expensive but it is even more expensive when factoring in what they already owe to other head coaches.

At the time Griffin was hired, Charania reported that the coach signed a multi-year contract worth approximately $4 million per season. Budenholzer, reportedly had two years and $16 million remaining on his contract when he was fired.

Combine what is owed to the three coaches and you have nearly $18 million owed in salary to three different head coaches in Milwaukee this season. That is more than what the Spurs pay Gregg Popovich (who is the head coach and also the president of basketball operations for the Spurs) and what the Heat pay Erik Spoelstra.

It is also a massive financial burden when considering that the Bucks already have the most expensive roster in the Eastern Conference.

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The Bucks suddenly firing Adrian Griffin had NBA fans totally stunned

The Bucks really fired a coach with the second-best record in the NBA.

The Milwaukee Bucks have 30 wins. They are tied for the second-best record in the NBA. In Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard have two legitimate franchise superstars pushing for a championship.

None of that matters to head coach Adrian Griffin’s job security, apparently.

On Tuesday, the Bucks unceremoniously fired Griffin, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Smack dab in the middle of a 30-win season (at the halfway mark!), Milwaukee dismissed Griffin, seemingly hoping for an upgrade on the bench. Doc Rivers has already been mentioned as a distinct possibility to replace Griffin.

Even still: they fired the coach of a team with the second-best record in the NBA? WHAT?

None of this shock is to say that Griffin was doing a terrific job. The Bucks sit in a great position in the standings, but were showing some fatal flaws that would be really tough to overcome this spring in the postseason.

Despite rostering All-NBA-caliber defenders like Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez, Milwaukee has the fifth-worst defensive rating in the Eastern Conference and the 22nd-worst in the NBA. Some of that is on poor personnel, and some of that is on coaching. On offense, the Bucks under Griffin too often devolved into a nonexistent two-man game between Antetokounmpo and Lillard. The two stars effectively “take turns” rather than running a conducive offense with a flow. It is a testament to their individual ability that the Bucks are still somehow second in offensive net rating.

Rivers might be the cure to what ails Milwaukee in another title push, but that is no guarantee. Between stints with the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers, Rivers hasn’t coached a team to a Conference Finals appearance since 2012.

For now, Milwaukee must pick up the pieces after firing Griffin.