Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo & Damian Lillard - Photo by USA Today's Jeff Hanisch
MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) – The Milwaukee Bucks’ 2024-2025 season came to an abrupt end on Tuesday night when they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year by the Indiana Pacers, but the team got some good news from their biggest stars.
According to head coach Doc Rivers, who spoke with Michael Marot of the Associated Press, point guard Damian Lillard told him and his teammates two things on Tuesday: “The first one, he just said, ‘I can’t believe I’m here. Then the second one is ‘I’m not going out this way.’ I can guarantee you he won’t, and that’s what I meant about his resolve.”
On average, NBA players take 10 to 11 months to recover from a torn ACL fully, meaning Lillard would likely miss the entire 2025 regular season and possibly be ready to return to the court for a Bucks playoff run next spring.
Rivers comments were followed by a report from ESPN’s Jamal Collier, who prefers to continue playing with Lillard for another season rather than demanding a trade, saying, “Multiple sources have indicated to ESPN throughout the season that Antetokounmpo remains happy in Milwaukee, that he deeply respects Lillard, and was pleased with the progress they made as a duo this season, when they were the highest-scoring twosome in the NBA, averaging 58.4 points per game, and helped rally Milwaukee from 2-8 to win the Emirates NBA Cup in December.”
Due to injuries, the star duo is yet to play a full playoff series together, and the Bucks have only gone 1-4 in postseason series since winning the NBA title in 2021 and haven’t won a postseason series since their 2022 run to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
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