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Damian Lillard says the time he spent with Giannis during All-Star weekend was beneficial

"I think it was just a positive weekend for us because we just had a lot of interactions."
Jonas Panerio|
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Milwaukee Bucks

The NBA’s regular season is such a grind that it can be challenging to forge meaningful relationships with your teammates. In between the games and the traveling, some players even lose track of which city they're in. But once a year, the league breaks from its hectic schedule to celebrate its best players and give them a chance to breathe at the All-Star weekend.

The All-Star Weekend may still be packed with plenty of activities for the various All-Stars, but it allows them to get away from their respective squads and build some bonds. And it seems like that's exactly what happened when Damian Lillard spent time with Giannis Antetokounmpo during the festivities last weekend.

Positive weekend

Giannis and Lillard started for the East squad that won convincingly, 211-186. Dame also brought home some serious hardware, winning the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player trophy for his 39-point, 11-three-pointers performance. But more than anything, the time the two superstars spent together was what mattered most.

“When you go somewhere outside of your team with a teammate, you usually naturally turn to each other more, just a lot of conversation,” Lillard said.

“I think it was just a positive weekend for us because we just had a lot of interactions.”

Get on the same page

Though the Bucks have looked dominant at times, they haven’t shown it consistently. In fact, Milwaukee headed to the All-Star break on a sour note, losing to the lowly Memphis Grizzlies 113-110. Lillard said he and Giannis spent time talking about their team and what they can do to improve their performances.

“We were able to have conversations about where our team has been lately and what we want to do, how we can help each other better. When you can break away from not only the season and have All-Star break, but also break away from the team and be able to just be man-to-man and just bond like that, it’s always helpful,” Lillard shared.

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Jonas Panerio
JONAS PANERIO