Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard unveiled his list of the top 5 players in the world currently on Monday. Lillard appeared on Jeff Teague’s Club 520 podcast and included two Americans and three overseas players in his list.
First up, the former Portland Trail Blazers superstar named Minnesota Timberwolves poster boy Anthony Edwards and spoke candidly about Ant-Man’s swagger.
“Anthony Edwards, I think everyone super high on him right now but I like him because his energy and his swag is authentic and he got the game to go with it,” Lillard said
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Edwards earned his second All-Star game appearance last season and led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals. The 23-year-old played 79 regular season games last season and averaged 25.9 points per game on 46.1% shooting from the field.
Next up, Lillard named Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant and acknowledged the high-flying athlete’s potential.
“I am gonna go Ja Morant. He got into some trouble and people kind of turned off to him but I know what I am looking at,” Lillard opined.
Morant was handed a 25-game suspension last season for brandishing a gun over Instagram Live. The athletic point guard returned and played nine games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.
Damian Lillard rounded out his top 5 list by naming Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, and Milwaukee Bucks teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo.
All three players were named in the All-NBA First Team last season while Jokic won the MVP award.
Doncic led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals and averaged 28.9 points in the playoffs. The Slovenian superstar also secured the scoring title after averaging 33.9 points per game in the regular season.
Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and nine assists last season while Antetokounmp averaged 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists.
Damian Lillard’s dream starting 5
In an interview on TikTok with NelsonTheProdigy_ earlier in the year, Damian Lillard revealed his dream NBA starting 5. Lillard included himself alongside the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry, the LA Lakers’ LeBron James, the Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant and the Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo.
Reflecting on Damian Lillard’s performance last season, the 34-year-old had a year that was average by his typically high standards. In his first season with the Bucks, the eight-time All-Star averaged 24.3 points on 42.4% shooting from the field, including 35.4% from the 3-point range. Lillard also averaged 4.4 rebounds, seven assists and one steal per game.
The Bucks suffered a 4-2 defeat against the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Lillard played four games and averaged 31.3 points on 42% shooting from the floor, including 41.7% from beyond the arc.
