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The Bucks have since added Lillard as part of a three-team trade in which they gave up two-time All-Star Jrue Holiday, guard Grayson Allen and plenty of draft capital. In Lillard and Antetokounmpo, the Bucks now have two of the 75 players selected on the NBA’s 75th anniversary team. “I don’t think it’s a secret how much I want to win,” Lillard said. “That’s how we got here today. They want to win equally as bad as I do. I couldn’t be more excited. I couldn’t be more thankful for this opportunity, to be part of this organization, to play alongside the best player in the league.”
Lillard said the prospect of playing in Milwaukee started becoming realistic “maybe two weeks ago,” though he had expressed his interest in playing alongside Antetokounmpo long before then. When Lillard was asked on Twitter in May 2022 to pick one current player he’d want to help him reach the playoffs, he selected Antetokounmpo.
Even so, Bucks co-owner Wes Edens feels like “we’re in the best position we’ve ever been at this point in a season.”