The Milwaukee Bucks held a welcome rally Saturday afternoon for newly acquired superstar Damian Lillard outside Fiserv Forum.
Thousands of fans reportedly waited more than three hours to catch a glimpse of Lillard arriving and walking into the arena.
The eagle has landed ⌚#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/hWNFV30vqE
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) September 30, 2023
The Bucks acquired Lillard in a three-team deal, which sent Jrue Holiday and Deandre Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers and Jusuf Nurkic to the Phoenix Suns. A total of eight players and three draft picks were part of the blockbuster.
Once inside, Lillard got a chance to check out his new threads.
New Logo Lillard 🦌 pic.twitter.com/AeA6BuXfyw
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 1, 2023
The acquisition of Lillard comes after Antetokounmpo told The New York Times over the summer that he wanted to see how committed the Bucks are toward winning another championship before deciding whether to sign a long-term deal to stay in Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo’s contract runs through the 2024-25 season, with a player option for 2025-26.
“Damian Lillard is an elite player in our league and someone we’ve long been fans of,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said. “These opportunities are rare and hard to measure and execute.
“His character, competitiveness, talent and experience complement our group and gives us the best chance to win at the very highest level as we create new memories together.”
Lillard is coming off a season in which he averaged 32.2 points per game for the Trail Blazers. He is a seven-time All-NBA selection and was selected to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.