The NBA has been a league that has continuously evolved: many younger players take elements from older players and add them to their own game. Players continuously build on the work of others from the past to push the sport of basketball forward.
Damian Lillard is one of the best point guards in the league, and there’s no doubt that many young guards even not in the NBA view him as a blueprint for success. He was recently asked in a Reddit AMA, which player that he sees himself in. Lillard’s answer was Ja Morant, and he revealed that the key was Morant’s mentality.
Younger player I see myself in: play style or mentality… Mentality-wise, ya know I see a few with the mentality. None really with the same play-style, but mentality-wise I think Ja Morant. Just confident. He attacks everybody, and ya know, early in his career it’s like he views himself at the highest level with the top players in the league. And that’s how I felt!
And, ya know, whether people felt like it was premature, or I wasn’t, or I hadn’t proven this, or I hadn’t won, or whatever… it’s a lot of things, there’s a lot of factors that people put into whether they want to consider you ‘up there,’ but I didn’t care. I was like ‘I’m one of the best.’ And he has that mentality, like ‘I’m one of the best, I don’t fear nobody, I’m not backing down from nobody, when I play I’m the best on the court and that’s that!’ And he knows how to make his team win games, so I think mentality-wise, I would say Ja Morant. I connect with him. I see it when I watch him play.
Ja Morant later responded to the veteran point guard, showing his respect for Damian Lillard. While the two don’t necessarily have a similar playstyle as Lillard mentions, both have a certain underdog view of themselves, in terms of seeing themselves as top-tier players.
RESPECT 💯🤝 @Dame_Lillard
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) December 4, 2021
Damian Lillard once had players of his own that he idolized, and now it’s his turn to have young players look up to him. Damian Lillard is a three-level scorer with a very versatile game, and he brings a lot to the table offensively that others can learn from.
It remains to be seen if Ja Morant can have a successful career like Damian Lillard. Morant certainly still has a lot to accomplish. But it seems as though Damian Lillard believes in the young Memphis Grizzlies guard, and perhaps we’ll see Morant shine soon enough.
