“I rented his house for 2 years”: Damian Lillard opens up about relationship with $135M Blazers teammate 

After being part of the same multi‑team trade nearly two years ago, Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday will now be sharing the locker room with the Portland Trail Blazers. As they prepare for their first NBA season together, Lillard opened up about their bond, revealing the chemistry they’ve already developed over the year.

Lillard recollected a hilarious anecdote, showcasing their camaraderie. During his two-year stint with the Milwaukee Bucks, Lillard rented Holiday’s house and recalled complaining about the poor Wi-Fi connectivity.

“When I lived in Milwaukee, I rented his house for two years so we talked a lot,” Lillard revealed. “Like, I was complaining to him about the Wi-Fi. There’s a clip online of like, I shake his hand, we played them in Boston, we had an interaction and people were like “what?” And we were literally talking about his Wi-Fi at his house.”

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Lillard also touched on some of the more genuine conversations they’ve had since Holiday, who is in the midst of a four-year, $135 million contract, got acquired by the Blazers.

“So he reached out just about like areas like to live in and stuff like that and a little bit about the organization,” Lillard said. “And I told him, like, I live in Portland, my family's in Portland… So, I mean, I think once you get here and you get on the ground, you know, you learn to like it or love it in my case.”

Lillard and Holiday also have prior on-court experience together, having served as key members of Team USA during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Both guards were part of the starting lineup and played crucial roles in clinching the gold medal for their country.

During the tournament, Lillard averaged 11.2 points and 3.2 assists per game, while Holiday delivered 11.8 points and 3.8 assists per game.

Damian Lillard tried convincing Jrue Holiday to join the Portland Trail Blazers

Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard are finally teaming up in the backcourt, a move that the latter has long hoped for. Following the 2019-2020 NBA season, Lillard made an effort to recruit him to the Portland Trail Blazers before Holiday was traded from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Now, after Damian Lillard was waived by the Bucks, it was Holiday who reached out.

"Damian Lillard said today at his kids camp in Beaverton that as soon as he got waived, Jrue Holiday texted him the 👀 emoji,” Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report reported. “Also said he was trying to get Jrue to Portland in 2021 when he was traded from New Orleans to Milwaukee."

Sean Highkin

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Damian Lillard said today at his kids camp in Beaverton that as soon as he got waived, Jrue Holiday texted him the 👀 emoji. Also said he was trying to get Jrue to Portland in 2021 when he was traded from New Orleans to Milwaukee.

The backcourt duo is expected to be joined by Deni Avdija, Jerami Grant and Donovan Clingan in the starting lineup.

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About the author

Advait Jajodia

Advait Jajodia is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over four years of experience in the field with The SportsRush.

Advait has a love of basketball that stems from playing the game, and has represented Mumbai North at the Inter-District State Championship and Maharashtra at the ASISC National Games.

His favorite team is the New Orleans Pelicans, although Advait also has an affinity for the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. His favorite player of all time was Kobe Bryant, as the Lakers legend's undeniable talent and mentality were just unignorable. As for players in the current game, Stephen Curry, Zion Williamson, Victor Wembanyama, and Kyrie Irving are top of Advait's list.

When not watching or writing about sports, Advait is a fan of true crime shows, board games and console gaming.

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