The big show of appreciation came Wednesday night when the Bucks faced the Blazers on their home court, months after Dame was traded from Portland, after 11 seasons, to Milwaukee.

The sold-out crowd got on their feet and cheered for their former guard during player introduction ... and Lillard was overwhelmed with emotions.

"It was a fun game," the 8x All-Star said at his post-game press conference, "I think these types of games, you know, where it's just a lot of meaning, it's a lot of emotion to it."

"That's what tonight was. It was an entertaining game, it was excitement, the fans were into the game for a lot of reasons. That's what the NBA is."

Lillard also got a video tribute on the jumbotron from the Blazers organization.

Speaking of videos, Kevin Durant also made his first return to the Barclay Center since the Nets traded him to the Phoenix Suns ... Brooklyn also gave him a tribute, too.

FYI, Durant seemingly didn't want a video ... saying he didn't deserve one days ahead of the game.

"I was there for three years, four years and we didn’t accomplish anything worth being celebrated for," Durant told The Arizona Republic.

"That’s just how I feel."