Damian Lillard may have accidentally cursed his chances of finally winning some silverware.

Before the Milwaukee Bucks’ 128-119 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament on Thursday, Lillard was filmed touching the NBA Cup – which superstitious sports fans think tainted his chances of winning it.

Lillard’s Bucks crashed out of the NBA In-Season Tournament on Thursday night in a surprise defeat to the Indiana PacersCredit: Getty Images
A reporter at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday spotted Lillard posing with the In-Season trophy before tip-off.

“Don’t touch the trophy,” the reporter could be heard yelling at Lillard, “it’s bad luck!”.

However, the Bucks point guard ignored the advice, giving a wry smile before proceeding to touch the cup.

Touching a trophy (or not) is a common superstition across the sports world, as many deem it to be a bad luck charm.

Football players in the World Cup Final often walk past the prestigious trophy without touching it in case it affects their chances of lifting it.

They prefer to touch it only once they’ve won it.

Lillard was seemingly unaware about this omen and it came back to bite him as the Bucks were beaten by the Pacers.

Fans on social media remarked that Lillard ‘cursed’ himself while joking that it’s the closest he’ll ever get to a trophy.

Dame looked around and briefly considered taking the adviceCredit: Twitter
“Well that’s bad luck,” one person said.

“Only trophy he’ll ever touch,” another joked.

“Touching a trophy is bad according to Cristiano Ronaldo,” a third wrote.

“He jinxed the Bucks,” a fourth added.

Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton took full advantage of Lillard’s self-inflicted ‘curse’, continuing his hot streak of late by finishing with 27 points and 15 assists.

Haliburton also hit a dagger three-pointer to effectively ice the game in the final minute and immediately did the “Dame Time” celebration in front of an onlooking Lillard.

It was too late and he touched the trophy which fans say cursed himCredit: Twitter
Lillard has made a habit of hitting big shots during his career and looking at his wrist to signal ‘what time it is.’

However, this was Haliburton’s time and Dame respected the homage.

“As many times as I’ve done it … when you dish it out, you gotta be willing to take it,” Lillard told reporters after the game.

“For as many times as I’ve done it to people, I can’t be upset when somebody else does it. I think that’s also a sign of respect and acknowledgement for knowing my history and knowing what I do.”

“I’ve also known that when you’re having your moment, it’s important to be careful and be humble… because you just never know how the table turns and it when it’s gonna turn. I respect it. We shook hands after the game. I wasn’t moved by it left or right.”

Dame was eager to touch the trophy 😂

(🎥 @theScore) pic.twitter.com/XR9ydteZTi

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 7, 2023