ESPN Analyst Drops Blunt Message on Damian Lillard

It isn't a secret that the Milwaukee Bucks' 2023-24 campaign was largely disappointed. The Bucks were expected to contend for a championship after acquiring Damian Lillard during the offseason . Instead, injuries to the star point guard and Giannis Antetokounmpo saw Milwaukee fall to the Indiana Pacers in six games once the postseason arrived.

Fast forward to now, and the 2024-25 NBA season is just over a month away. While many players are facing pressure to succeed in the new campaign, former NBA center and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins believes no one is on the hot seat more than Lillard.

"The pressure is on Dame," Perkins said about Lillard when appearing on Wednesday's edition of "NBA Today." "Just making it to the playoffs or conference finals is not enough."

Perkins added that Lillard deserves the same criticism that other superstar players of a similar age must face.

"We put a lot of pressure on those guys to go out and deliver and bring home a championship," Perkins stated in his closing remarks. "We got to keep that same energy with Damian Lillard."

Lillard has racked up plenty of individual accolades since joining the league in 2012-13, racking up eight All-Star appearances as well as seven All-NBA nods. Unfortunately, it's been team success that has eluded the former 2013 Rookie of the Year.

While the Portland Trail Blazers qualified for the playoffs eight times during Lillard's 11-year run, they only advanced past Round 1 on three occasions. They reached the 2018-19 Western Conference Finals but couldn't win a playoff series beyond that spring, which includes missing the postseason in back-to-back years before Lillard was traded to the Bucks.

It'll be interesting to see if having an entire offseason with the Bucks pays off for Lillard this fall. The 34-year-old playmaker had less than a month between last year's trade and the regular season to gel with his new teammates. Additionally, it didn't help that Milwaukee replaced former head coach Adrian Griffin with Doc Rivers only 43 games into the former's tenure.

Lillard's first season with the Bucks left much to be desired regarding his individual performance. The ex-Weber State product only averaged 24.3 points on 42.4 shooting percent from the field with a 35.4 percent success rate from deep in 73 games, adding 7.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds as well.

Lillard and Antetokounmpo have the potential to be one of the most dangerous duos in the NBA. As long as the pair remain healthy and Rivers plays to their strengths, the Bucks should be in the championship picture until the end of the season.