Damian Lillard has always had a passionate interest in boxing. The activity doubles as a wonderful aerobic workout and a great method to learn self-defense. Through social media, he developed a solid reputation as a boxer over time, to the point where Ryan Garcia asked him to appear with him in a boxing commercial for Gatorade.
Garcia most recently engaged in a high-profile boxing contest with Gervonta Tank Davis, losing by technical knockout in the seventh round after taking a body shot from Tank. Despite this, after winning a catchweight division fight in 2023, he became one of the top names in boxing.
It was a topic of discussion whether or not Dame will ever don the gloves for a few rounds given the fanfare surrounding celebrity boxing contests over the previous five years. Even though he said it was unlikely, anything could happen. Given that he is projected to make $49 million by the end of the 2026–27 season, the financial incentive isn’t really there.
Damian Lillard on Sparring with Ryan Garcia
Ryan Garcia and Damian Lillard trained together for a commercial for Gatorade’s newest beverage, Gatorlyte. During the commercial, he would also advertise his Dame 8s and even mention that Adidas had created for him specific Dame 8 iterations for boxing.
Lillard was questioned about this sparring match with Ryan during an interview. He refrained from making a statement on who had won and instead took a more diplomatic tack by saying that neither of them had defeated the other during the friendly training session.
We moved around a little bit despite the fact that there were numerous feints and missed jabs. The seven-time All-Star told GQ Sports that neither he nor I had defeated our opponent.
Damian Lillard Hinted Towards Wanting to Play with Giannis Antetokounmpo
Around the 4:11 Minute Mark of The Same Interview with Gq Sports, Damian Lillard is asked about the player he would most like to collaborate with to win a championship. He acknowledged that Giannis Antetokounmpo would be his top pick.
Following the Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 5 loss to the Miami Heat, Dame most recently retweeted an edited photo of Giannis wearing a Portland Trailblazers uniform on Twitter. It’s clear that the Oakland native is looking for a method to incorporate the Greek Freak’s skills with his own.