To get moved, Dame didn’t want to put himself at risk of getting hurt.

Doc Rivers said that Damian Lillard wasn’t in good shape to start the 2023–24 season. The head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks said that the star point guard didn’t want to hurt himself because he was about to be moved.

It was also said by the 2008 winner that he didn’t know Lillard was traded to the Bucks a few days before the 2023–24 season began.

“I had no idea Dame had been traded until two or three days before camp,” Rivers said on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “He told me, ‘Coach, I didn’t work out all summer.'” I have never not worked out before. When I worked out, I was so afraid of hurting myself. He knew he was going to be moved.

He was in the worst shape ever.

 
Last summer, Lillard was the most sought-after player in trades. The superstar point guard asked to be moved to a contending team so he could play for a title before he retires. He had spent his whole career with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Dame got the trade he wanted and went to play for a Milwaukee team led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. This team had just won the title two years before. Lillard wasn’t as fit as he should have been when he got there, though.

“So he said, “You know, I did some light running.” I shot some things when no one else was in the gym. “But I didn’t go (hard) at all,” Doc said. “One of the things you love about him is that he told you the truth.” “I’m in the worst shape I’ve ever been in.”

Doc says Dame never caught up.
Even with his problems, Lillard played in 73 regular season games for the Bucks last year, which was the most for him since the 2017–18 season. While Dame did shoot better than usual, he only made 42.4% of his shots from the field and 35.4% of his three-point shots. In the first round of the playoffs, he missed two games because an already hurt Achilles got worse.

Rivers went on, “When you start camp that way, you never get in shape.” “You never catch up, and he thought that…” He’s really happy with how fit he already is, which is great.

If Lillard wasn’t in shape, it could have made things harder for Milwaukee. Even so, the Bucks were 30-13 when Rivers took over for Adrian Gryphon. Doc took over and they went 17–19. They didn’t look like the title candidates they were supposed to be after getting Dame.

In the end, the sixth-seeded Indiana Pacers beat the Bucks in the first round. Few people blamed Lillard for it, but he needs to improve if the team wants to be in the running for the title again next season.