Was Damian Lillard the REAL problem in Portland?
I’m just gonna come out and say it… But Damian Lillard does not get the respect he deserves from this league. I mean come on… you’ve got a guy who’s given us some of the most iconic and memorable moments of NBA basketball from the last decade. He’s been selected for the All-Star team 7 times, was named a unanimous rookie of the year back in 2012 and has since then been breaking records, scaring defenses and dropping 50 on your favorite point guard night after night… Dame has been and still is… the real deal. But because he’s one
of the many NBA talents to not have lifted the Larry O’Brein trophy… his legacy as one of the greatest to ever do it is still under fire. Players, fans and media personalities alike have jumped to the defense of the Portland point guard, and Dame himself has been outspoken and critical of the NBA’s “ring culture”, dismissing it as a measure of success. Loyalty, passion and one of the greatest crunch time mentalites in the modern game have defined Lillard’s playstyle and made him a legend in the Rose City. But those same gifts that gave us things like
Dame Time, are also the reasons why he ultimately doesn’t get the respect he deserves. The NBA is a cut-throat business and when it’s all said and done, there is a
to start than with his stats. And man are they good. In 11 years and 769 regular season games, Dame has averaged 25.2 points, 6.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds. That puts Dame above players like Steph Curry, Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving for overall regular season averages. Some of these guys are ringless… none of them are underrated. Since he joined Portland back in 2012, he’s helped the Trailblazers go from an 11th seeded side to a top 5 conference finisher every. single. Year. This past season alone, the now 33 year old showed he’s still every bit as lethal
as he was on draft night, averaging 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists on 64.5% true shooting. He came 3rd overall in player efficiency ratings for all point guards and even broke Portland’s franchise record for total points in a game, dropping 71 against the Houston Rockets. This made Dame the first player in NBA history over 30 to drop 70 points in a single outing. And, if that wasn’t impressive enough, he did all that in under 40 minutes, breaking another NBA record in the process. And that isn’t even half of what he accomplished this past season.
Career highs, multiple 60+ point games and even a 3 point contest trophy, Damian Lillard proved to everyone that he’s not slowing down, not even a little bit. But despite Dame’s monster numbers and inspirational performances, the Portland Trail Blazers are actually a team in decline… They failed to make the playoffs for a second year in a row, finishing 13th overall with a 33-49 record, an improvement on their 27-55 record from the season before. Rip City and its once promising Championship team now looks to be headed into a serious rebuild… And one that might not even include
their franchise star. So what happened? How did we go from moments like this (dame hitting the dagger of Paul George) To moments like this (Portland getting blown out by Golden State in their last game of the season) Portland’s problem…Damian Lillard. Or should we say it’s just Damian Lillard. You see, Dame isn’t just the team’s leader. He’s the points leader. The assists leader. Hell, he even leads Portland in minutes played… and that means if Dame isn’t performing… Portland isn’t performing. This last season, Dame averaged 32.2 points. The second highest point scorer in the team was Anfernee
Simons, who was averaging a whole 10 points less a game… While that in itself isn’t an issue it shows the problem Portland have had since they signed Lillard all those years ago. They have failed to surround Dame with talent. Real talent. Lillard hasn’t shared the court with a fellow All-Star since LeMarcus Aldridge left in 2015. And aside from Aldrige, the only other guy who showed any promise was CJ McCollum. Aldrigde only played with Dame for 4 years before leaving Portland due to a strained relationship with the young point guard, and McCollum put up some decent
numbers during his time as a Trail Blazer but was ultimately traded to New Orleans a few years back. That’s it… in 11 years as TrailBlazer. Aldrdige and McCollum have been Dame’s most significant teammates. Sure you could make the case for guys like Zach Collins, Evan Turner, Al-Farouq Aminu and Jusuf Nurkic, but those guys were at best role players, at worst a liability waiting to happen. And when you consider the type of talent championship winning teams have had to employ and the resurgence of the “super team” in recent years, you start to understand why Portland haven’t
been to a finals yet. And that leads us onto the biggest reason why Dame is still ringless. Loyalty. Hear us out. We’re not saying loyalty is a bad thing. But, there’s a reason why it’s so rare in today’s game, and Dame is a perfect example of it. You just don’t get rewarded for being loyal. This isn’t like Tim Duncan with the Spurs or Kobe with the Lakers… Dame is not a part of some great dynasty teams with genius, once in a generation head coaches and visionary front offices. He was in Portland. He didn’t have the
most dominant center in league history or a reliable cast of perimeter players, or even another All-Star… He was in Portland. Fans have long speculated why Dame has been so loyal to the Rose City. While other NBA stars bounced around forming super teams and winning chips, Dame stayed in Oregon and tried to fight through the growing pains of a constantly changing roster. But things might be about to change. After the 22/23 season, rumors that Lillard was requesting a trade have been all fans and the media wanna talk about. Dame Dolla has made it clear to everyone
in Portland that next season he wants to be playing in Miami, a real championship team with enough talent to make the most of Lillard’s insane output. Despite his comments dismissing the NBA’s ring culture as a measure of success, it seems even Lillard wants the icing on the cake to an already impressive career… And honestly, everyone kinda wants the same thing. Dame potentially joining Miami hasn’t been met with any of the same criticism other stars have received when they joined already formed super teams. Remember how Durant was treated when he signed for Golden State? Or how
people called it “the end of basketball” when the Nets signed KD, Irving and Harden just a few years back? Or even how the league turned on LeBron when he took his talents to South Beach. Lillard has done his time, proved his loyalty and now, everyone wants to see him get that ring. But all this begs the question. Is it really that important for Damian Lillard’s legacy in the league to be remembered as an NBA champion? Honestly… we don’t think so. Lillard is not the first All-Star level talent to chase a championship and fail. The league
is full of hall of farmers, who won everything they could individually, but failed to lift the Larry O’Brein trophy. I mean just take a look at Allen Iverson. A similar player to Dame, who led his team to just one final where he lost to the Lakers. Despite never winning a ring, AI’s impact, legacy and reputation in the league is unmatched. He influenced an entire generation of hoopers, got his jersey retired in Philly and made the Hall of Fame. All without a ring. Another player that fits into this narrative is Carmelo Anthony. Both Melo and Dame
are prolific scorers with a cult-like fanbase who wanted nothing more than to see their favorite player win a championship. But in Melo’s case, it just wasn’t meant to be. After 19 seasons, 6 teams and more individual accolades than some franchises, Melo retired from the NBA a legend of the game. All without a ring. Melo hasn’t even been retired for a year and already conversations about jersey retirements and hall of fame nominations are surfacing, all heavily in favor of immortalizing the power forward in basketball history. With fewer seasons under his belt, Dame has already built himself
a strong legacy that will no doubt be respected by Portland and the league when he decides to retire. Lillard has emerged as one of the best of his draft class, only narrowly edged out by generational-talent Anthony Davis. It’s hard to compare the two head to head. Offensively they’re similar numbers wise, while the 6”10’ Davis obviously has a bigger impact defensively than the 6”2 Lillard. But what sets AD apart the most though is a ring. AD is an NBA champion. He, alongside LeBron James and the rest of the Lakers, took home the trophy during the NBA’s
Bubble season in Orlando. Which only proves the point we were making earlier. No matter how good Damian Lillard is. No matter how good Anthony Davis is. To win a championship, you need help. This season, Portland drafted another 6”2 phenom guard named Scoot Henderson at the number 2 spot, signaling to the league that the Damian Lillard era of Trailblazer basketball might be coming to an end. Scoot lost out on the number one position to another generational-talent, who by now we’re sure you’re familiar with… Victor Wembenyama. Wemby and Scoot share a lot of similarities to AD and
Dame and like Dame, Scoot has something to prove against his draft class enemy. If you wanna know more about Portland’s newest point guard, check out a video we made covering the G-league phenom’s path to the NBA… And as for Dame, it’s important to remember that his career isn’t over yet. He’s proven time and time again that when he’s counted out, when the clocks ticking down and the next bucket really matters… he’s gonna show up. Wherever he decides to play next season, I’m sure we’re gonna see the same Damian Lillard we’ve come to know and love,
dominate, lead and hopefully, this time… win.
