After being sidelined for almost the entire 2021-22 NBA season, Damian Lillard is gearing up for his return to the NBA next season. The Portland Trail Blazers guard will once again try his best to lead the Trail Blazers to a good playoff run if the team qualifies for the postseason.
For years, Dame has stuck with the franchise, but he hasn’t gotten the same amount of support from the team. The Trail Blazers have simply failed to get Lillard a player good enough who could help Lillard in carrying the team to the NBA Finals.
As a result, Lillard’s legacy in the NBA has been somewhat tarnished. Many believe that the 32-year-old puts up empty numbers as it doesn’t result in any success for his franchise.
So much so that NBA analyst Taylor Rooks recently made a pretty controversial take about Dame. She believes that Lillard doesn’t even deserve superstar status in the NBA.
This is such a ridiculous take pic.twitter.com/m1gb0Eqjqe
— kevin ❄️ (@KY_PDX) August 21, 2022
Jayson Tatum: Is Kyrie Irving a superstar?
Taylor Rooks: Yes. Kyrie is.
Jayson Tatum: I agree. Is Damian Lillard a superstar?
Taylor Rooks: I think that Damian has all the superstar qualities. But it’s hard to put him there in this moment… He has that in him… He’s gotta win, he’s gotta get there. To me that’s some of it.
When NBA fans saw this comment by Rooks about Lillard, they were quick to berate the NBA analyst. Now Kendrick Perkins has come in support of Lillard as he shared his feelings about Dame in a short yet-to-the-point tweet.
Dame Dolla has been a SUPERSTAR for a minute now! Carry the hell on…
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) August 22, 2022
Dame Dolla has been a SUPERSTAR for a minute now! Carry the hell on…
There is no way that Lillard didn’t see the video where Rooks talked about him. This will most likely serve as something that will motivate him before the new season begins.
But there is only so much a player can do on his own. He still needs a good supporting cast to get the Trail Blazers to success. Can he achieve that next season? We will find out in the coming months.
