ESPN is catching heat for an odd post following Damian Lillard’s scintillating debut with the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
Lillard torched the Philadelphia 76ers for 39 points in the 118-117 win at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis. The 7-time All-Star also scored 14 of the Bucks’ final 16 points in the last 4 minutes of the game.
ESPN posted Lillard’s interview following the contest that featured an epic soundbite — or so it seemed.
“Ain’t nothing I want more,” Lillard said in the clip. “I told you when I first came here I said, ‘I didn’t come to waste my time.'”
DAME DIDN'T COME TO MILWAUKEE TO WASTE HIS TIME 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/vw6Coa6JG0
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 27, 2023
The viral video ESPN posted on X has been viewed over 3.5 million times as of writing.
Lillard’s message would have been an early contender for quote of the year if it wasn’t already three years old.
ESPN reposted footage of Lillard’s postgame interview from August 2020 following his 61-point performance in the NBA bubble. The Worldwide Leader not only edited Lillard’s jersey into a Bucks uniform, but they also rotoscoped an ESPN logo over the original NBA on TNT logo.
The reactions to the said post were probably not the ones the ESPN social media manager had intended to elicit.
Why hasn’t this totally irresponsible post been deleted yet?
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) October 27, 2023
Take this down ffs
— Josh Lloyd (@redrock_bball) October 27, 2023
It’s one thing to edit a different jersey onto a photo of a player for the sake of online engagement. It feels like another thing entirely to seemingly pass off an old interview from a different broadcasting company as your own — regardless of intention.
