Damian Lillard is one of the greatest clutch players we have ever seen. When it comes down to the final few seconds we all know that it is ‘Dame Time’. Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal once called Lillard ‘ the most feared man in basketball’. Unfortunately, Lillard has been unable to win a championship all these years. He still stays loyal to his organization and has not requested a trade yet. He wants to win in Portland and hopes he can do it for the city and its fans. He is currently rehabilitating after his abdominal surgery and is out of action for now.
Lillard is one of the most respected players due to his loyalty. He is also respected for his game. Lillard is one of the best deep 3 point shooters we have ever seen. But when asked about Stephen Curry, Blazers’ star Damian Lillard sits down with Draymond Green on his podcast and said, “At my position…if you say who is the best at this, who’s the first like this, Steph is the one person I can accept coming behind…I respect Steph.”
To add context to the statement, Draymond and Lillard were discussing Dame’s All-Star snubs in 2016 and 2017 as well as his MVP snub in 2019-2020 when he averaged 30 points and 8 assists but his team was a low seed. The superstar talked about how he wasn’t as respected as other players that did as much or even lesser than he did. He brought up how Steph was in the MVP conversation averaging similar numbers even though the Warriors lost in the Play-In games last season.
Dame wanted to be clear that he admired and respected Steph, but at the same time, he wanted to point out how he was treated differently because he isn’t as cordial with the media or opens up a lot about himself. It is admirable that Dame has stuck with the Trail Blazers despite his lack of success with the pieces they put around him. It would be amazing if he could win a ring there as he absolutely deserves it.