Damian Lillard is one of the most exciting NBA players right now. The Portland Trail Blazers point guard didn’t have the easiest path to the association, as everybody always overlooked him. He had to defy the odds to become the successful star he is right now.
Ever since he was young, Dame had to overcome big obstacles on his way to the top. He played with a chip on his shoulder before entering the league, and even after that, Lillard has worked hard to prove doubters wrong.
One of Lillard’s worst moments came when his high school coach laughed at him for dreaming of having an NBA career. Every young hooper dreams of making it all the way to the big leagues, although not everybody can actually do it. Lillard had that same goal and never stopped until achieving it.
Back in 2020, in a conversation with Draymond Green, the Portland Trail Blazers playmaker recalled the time his high school coach tried to shut down his NBA dream, which didn’t sit well with Dame. Instead of giving up, he was more motivated after that, keen to prove everybody wrong (1:14).
“Coach was like, ‘man, you think you’re going to make it to the NBA?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And he chuckled and laughed in my face, bro. He literally like smiled at me in my face and I was just like, I’ll never forget when he said that, and it was that summer when we played AAU. We played against the T-Mac (Tracy McGrady) All-Stars, and I was just killing.
I remember seeing Lorenzo Romar (the Washington Huskies head coach from 2002 – 2017), Roy Williams (the North Carolina Tar Heels coach), and I’m leaving the court like, ‘I’m good. I’m (gonna) get a call. We get to the hotel, bro … nothing. Like nothing. I ain’t get nothing from that? I think from that moment, it was like, I felt slighted.”
Fortunately, Dame never stopped and got to work, always as the underdog, until he finally made it to the league. Even after fulfilling his dream, the player kept playing hard, being overlooked again but showing he is that dude on a nightly basis.
He’s very loyal to his squad and even though he’s been criticized for staying in Portland, he’s not mad about it and wants to compete with the Blazers for the NBA championship. This season, he struggled to get things going, just like his team. Now he’s sidelined and nothing points out he will return to action until the next campaign.
This offseason will be crucial for the Blazers, who are yet to assemble a team to actually compete for the title. Dame remains keen to win in Oregon, but if that doesn’t happen soon, we could see him leave the franchise.
He came a long way and now is one of the best players in the league. Jokes on that coach that didn’t believe in his player.
