It took him a while but Damian Lillard is now one of the most respected figures around the NBA. He didn’t have the press other stars had but made sure that everybody knew who he was and that he was one of the all-time great scorers.
Lillard made a name for himself thanks to his ability to rise up to the occasion in the clutch. It seems like he just can’t miss when the game is on the line, knocking down multiple series-clinching shots in the playoffs.
One of his most iconic moments came when he put an end to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s season with a 30+ foot three-pointer over Paul George.
George said that it was a bad shot and it kind of fueled a feud on social media. So, when the Clippers and Blazers met last year in the bubble and PG made fun of Lillard for missing a couple of clutch free-throws, it all took a whole new dimension.
Damian Lillard’s sister got into it with Paul George’s wife and it seemed like a rivalry was born for good. Nonetheless, Lillard stated that there’s actually no beef between them:
“Me and him kind of don’t have a back-and-forth history,” Lillard said on Million Dollarz Worth of Game. “The only history we have is when I hit the shot on them against OKC and when we got into it in the bubble. To me, that ain’t nothing. I haven’t said anything but the truth. That ain’t a back and forth to me.”
That’s hard to believe considering Lillard told Paul George that he was ‘running from the grind’ and taking the easy way out by joining the Clippers. Players don’t forget that easily and they may not like each other.
Lillard and George are both fierce competitors and it’s always fun to watch them go at each other, even if there’s no feud between them.
