Damian Lillard is one of the most loyal players in the entire league, spending his entire career with the Portland Trail Blazers. He has remained with the franchise through a lot of tough times, including last season when they didn’t make the playoffs and were a lottery team.
The Portland Trail Blazers and Damian Lillard have recently agreed on a two-year $122 million contract extension. After the event, Damian Lillard claimed that he’s “proud” to be loyal to the team and added that “it wouldn’t be as fulfilling to win a championship on another franchise. Michael Kaskey-Blomain of CBS Sports relayed the news.
“I’ve always said that if I do something that goes against who I am and say I do end up winning, I know me better than any of y’all know me. So I’d be happy with it, because I don’t think anybody wouldn’t be happy being a champion, but it wouldn’t be as fulfilling to me as I would want that moment to be,” Lillard said at a press conference announcing his extension, ESPN. “As long as I have an opportunity to do it, a good opportunity to [compete for a title], I’m willing to go out however.
“That’s where I’ve always stood, and that’s where I stand,” he added. “It’s going to get done or it’s not going to get done. I don’t want to go out there with this crazy uphill battle that I’m fighting and we need a miracle times 10 to get it done. I just want a shot at it, and if that happens and it doesn’t work out, then I can live with that.”
I feel proud to be that guy,” Lillard said. “Because I don’t think you earn something like this just by going out there and scoring a bunch of points.”
There is no doubt that the Portland Trail Blazers are doing their best to build a championship-caliber squad around Damian Lillard. They have added two fantastic defensive forwards in Josh Hart and Jerami Grant, over the past year, and they have recently inked breakout combo guard Anfernee Simons to a four-year, $100 million extension.
Hopefully, we see Damian Lillard win a championship during his career. Even if he never wins at the highest level, he’ll be beloved in the city of Portland and will retire as a Trail Blazers legend.
