"It's the ultimate respect": Damian Lillard felt honored when Giannis Antetokounmpo urged him to take over

Damian Lillard made his regular-season debut for the Milwaukee Bucks on October 26 against the Philadelphia 76ers. The superstar guard recently joined the team via trade and has already begun striking up an on-court partnership with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Lillard ended his first game for the Bucks with 39.0 points, with 14 of those points coming in the fourth quarter.

After the game, the superstar guard revealed that Antetokounmpo had encouraged him to take over the game once it became apparent he had the hot hand. When asked about his big debut performance, Lillard noted how Antetokounmpo's encouragement was the "ultimate respect" from his new teammate:

"Giannis was like, 'Come get it, this what you do.' When you've got that type of encouragement from your team, especially a new team, all it does is make you more comfortable to be who you are. I think it's just the ultimate respect. I've said it before, Giannis is the most dominant player in the world."

Lillard continued:

"For him to have the accolades, and be who he is, and to be able to say something like that. I think it makes it more telling why I fit perfectly with a guy like that, and hopefully we have a lot of success together."

The duo of Antetokounmpo and Lillard is expected to be a dominant force in the Eastern Conference this season. Milwaukee is a top-two team in their conference. However, they will face stern competition from the Boston Celtics, who re-tooled their roster throughout the summer. Nevertheless, Lillard and Antetokounmpo are already showing how dangerous they can be when sharing the court.

---

Damian Lillard credits the Milwaukee Bucks crowd's energy

"Dame Time" has become a common term within the NBA. Damian Lillard is known for raising his game to new levels in the clutch and has proven himself to be one of the best closers in the NBA. After leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a season-opening victory over the 76ers, Lillard was asked about his performance, to which he credited the crowd's energy:

"I did get energy from them. The crowd is getting into it down the stretch, and, I think, for a lot of players, it's a turn on. You're like, 'Man, they expect us to come through,' so I gotta come through. It's also something internal. When you get to the end of the game, I put pressure on myself."

Lillard made a big impression in his debut game for his new team. Fans will want to see him continue with such dominant performances in the coming months, as the Milwaukee Bucks aim to dominate the Eastern Conference before pushing for a championship during the postseason.