On Wednesday evening, Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks improved to 7-4 on the young 2023-24 NBA season with an impressive 128-112 road win over the Toronto Raptors. Operating without costar power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lillard was absolutely electric in the Bucks victory, scoring 37 points and dishing out 13 assists in what might have been the best game of his Milwaukee tenure thus far.

Recently, former NBA player turned ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins compiled a controversial list of his top five best guards in the NBA Eastern Conference, and shockingly, Lillard did not make the cut.

Now, Perkins is addressing the backlash, especially after Lillard's virtuoso performance against the Raptors.

Related Milwaukee Bucks NewsArticle continues below
Adidas Dame 10, Adidas, Damian Lillard, Adidas Dame 10 release
First look at Damian Lillard’s ‘All-Star’ Adidas Dame 10
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and center Brook Lopez (11) and guard Damian Lillard (0) on the court during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena
NBA rumors: Exec makes Lakers quip about Bucks star, but it’s not Giannis

“Before I said this list, I said my lists are like a revolving door,” said Perkins on ESPN's NBA Today. “Dame has been up and down. The Bucks have been struggling. My apologies, Dame. My apologies. I'm sorry.”

Damian Lillard has indeed been a bit up and down thus far in his Bucks tenure. Although he has crossed the thirty point plateau several times already through the opening portion of the season, Lillard has also suffered multiple of the worst shooting nights of his entire career in a Bucks uniform, making the results with the pairing of him and Antetokounmpo somewhat of a mixed bag so far.

However, few would have predicted Antetokounmpo and Lillard to be the best versions of themselves right off of the bat, and the Bucks certainly appear to be trending in the right direction after a shaky first couple of games.