Did ESPN think people wouldn’t notice or just not care?
The outlet has come under fire for posting a digitally altered video of Damian Lillard on their social media accounts following the Bucks’ 118-117 win over the 76ers Thursday night.
In his Bucks debut, Lillard scored 39 points and recorded eight rebounds and four assists.
On ESPN’s “SportsCenter” account on X, as well as its account on Instagram, the outlet posted a video of Lillard seemingly in a Bucks jersey saying, “Ain’t nothing I want more. I told you when I first came here, I said I didn’t come here to waste my time.”
ESPN captioned the post: “Dame didn’t come to Milwaukee to waste his time.”
But social media users were quick to notice something was off about the video.
It turns out the interview was from 2020 when Lillard was on the Trail Blazers and speaking in the Orlando bubble to TNT, not ESPN.
That means ESPN likely added a Bucks logo to the court, changed Lillard’s uniform from a Blazers jersey to a Bucks jersey, and flipped the microphone’s “flag” from TNT to ESPN to make it appear as if it was its own interview.
ESPN explained their reasoning for the post in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“We occasionally look to connect sports moments of the past with contemporary imagery and storylines as part of our social content. While it was never our intention to misrepresent anything for fans, we completely recognize how this instance caused confusion,” the statement read.
There were a few obvious giveaways that made it clear the video, which has over eight million views on X, was not new.
The generic NBA logo at mid-court clearly indicates it wasn’t Fiserv Forum, where the Bucks played Thursday night, and instead was the neutral courts the NBA used in the bubble.
Lillard was also wearing a different jersey than the one the Bucks wore in the win.
A community note now appears under the post on X, reading, “This is from when Lillard played for Portland. The jersey and court logo has been digitally added with no explanation.”
Users replied to the post with plenty of criticism.
“Lmao this is from the bubble,” wrote one X user.
“This is the worst post they’ve ever had wow,” wrote another.
“This is literally misinformation,” wrote another.
The Bucks acquired Lillard before the season in a blockbuster three-way deal that saw the Blazers receive Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, a 2029 first-round pick and two first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030.
The Suns received Grayson Allen, Keon Johnson, Nassir Little and Jusuf Nurkic.
The Blazers notably sent Holiday to the Celtics after the deal.