Doc Rivers said that his player, Damian Lillard was in the worst shape of his life before the start of training camp.
In a guest appearance on the Bill Simmons podcast, the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks revealed something very strange.
“I didn’t even realize Dame was traded two or three days before training camp. … We were at dinner, and he said, ‘Coach, I didn’t work out all summer. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve not worked out. I was so scared of getting injured working out. He knew he was gonna get traded.
So, he said, ‘You know, I did some light running. I did some shooting with no one in the gym. But I didn’t go (hard) at all.’ … He was honest about it, and that’s one of the reasons you love him. He said, ‘This is the worst shape I’ve ever been in,'” Doc Rivers said.
It is hard to believe that Lillard said this because Rivers was not a part of training camp. He came in the middle of the season. Adrian Griffin had a 30-13 record before his firing, while Rivers was below .500 and flunked out in the first round of the playoffs.
It is especially strange since Rivers wasn’t even the head coach during training camp. He was hired in late January when Lillard had over three months to play himself into shape. Claiming that one of the reasons the Bucks struggled is because Lillard came into the season out of shape is weird to say the least.