Disrespectful placement on ranking should fuel Bucks guard Damian Lillard

It's no secret that things did not go according to plan during Damian Lillard's first season with the Milwaukee Bucks.

No one wants to hear excuses, but there were a lot of reasons for that. The guard got traded to the Bucks with camp just days away, so he had little time to build chemistry with his new teammates, he couldn't work out as hard as he'd like due to his trade request and the fear of getting injured and he was dealing with plenty of personal issues off the basketball court.

At the end of the day, people simply want results, and there weren't many positive ones for Lillard or the Bucks as a whole in 2023-24. A recent ranking from Yahoo! Sports' Ben Rohrbach proves that, as he has Lillard ranked as the 10th-best second option in the NBA entering the 2024-25 NBA season, a placement that many would vehemently argue with.

Bucks, Lillard's doubters are stacking up

Even after a down year - where he was still an All-Star starter, one might add - there's no way Lillard is the 10th-best No. 2 in the NBA. With a real offseason under his belt, as he has been training like there is no tomorrow, Lillard should be in better shape and have a better repertoire with his teammates as they aim to secure an illustrious championship. He could climb on this ranking in a hurry.

As a whole, the Milwaukee Bucks are not currently thought of highly at all by the NBA community, with doubters present far and wide. The Bucks have proven that they typically play their best when their back is against the wall, as shown in 2021 when the NBA world was also seemingly out on them, and the hope is that they rekindle that same magic this coming season to win another NBA championship.

To do so, the Bucks need Lillard to be at his best. With all of the doubt and talk of him being "washed," the guard should be motivated to prove his doubters wrong. While he may never see this ranking, if he were to check it out, it should put a chip on his shoulder, as should every other ranking this offseason that has disrespected Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks.

The only way to eradicate the doubt is to win, and that should be everyone's primary goal.

Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.