Damian Lillard has a heartwarming plan for his $500K NBA Cup Champion Bonus

Damian Lillard has a generous plan for his share of the Milwaukee Bucks’ prize money for winning the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup.

Before the Bucks’ 97-81 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday to take home the NBA Cup and the prize money that comes with it, Lillard was asked if he had any specific thoughts on how he would spend the extra money.

“I’ve been doing this a long time, so when I get it, I’m not going to just blow it or go crazy,” Lillard shared. ESPN when he arrived at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday. “I’ll probably go to the support staff, you know, our training staff, the people that come in every day, all day when we go home. I’ll try to do something to support them.”

Every player on a standard contract with the Bucks gets $514,971 to win the NBA Cup. After Lillard mentioned that he would use his bonus to do something for Milwaukee’s training staff, he clarified that he will probably still keep a portion of it to do as he pleases.

“Not quite 500,” Lillard laughed as he continued. “Just a small part of it.”

While the NBA Cup bonus pales in comparison to the league’s highest-paid star players like Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the $500,000 payday is huge for Milwaukee’s young players and others on smaller contracts.

Even if he doesn’t need to, it’s nice to see Lillard use his bonus generously for his team’s unsung heroes.