Damian Lillard feels undervalued despite his 13 years in the NBA.
On the “Club520” podcast, he expressed frustration that people praise Stephen Curry as a top shooter but don’t give him the same recognition.
“They definitely don’t talk about it [my shooting],” Lillard said. “They act like I’ve not been doing what I’ve been doing for 13 seasons. When I think about my time in the league, there haven’t been many who’ve been doing it over and over. But I think people just get bored with consistency. I ain’t loud, but like [expletive], I’ve been doing it that long and winning. It ain’t like I’ve been doing it and I’m just playing for a team that never plays in the playoffs.”
Recognition and Criticism
Some say it’s odd for Lillard to claim he’s not appreciated. He made the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team over champions like Dwight Howard and Klay Thompson.
Even when his teams missed playoffs or got swept early, he still earned All-NBA and All-Star spots. The teams he played for did everything to keep him happy too.
The Blazers let LaMarcus Aldridge go so Lillard could lead, and they kept Terry Stotts as coach longer than they might have otherwise. The Bucks even fired Adrian Griffin because he didnโt see eye to eye with Lillard on strategies.
Fans might find this news surprising since many believe Lillard has always received plenty of support.
Sorry Damian, but players who aren’t appreciated donโt usually get such special treatment.
Performance vs Expectations
Some feel Lillard hasn’t lived up to his hype from ten years ago. Sure, he’s had two famous buzzer-beaters, but many forget his teams often didn’t make it past the first round of playoffs; six out of nine times they failed (three were sweeps). His one conference finals ended badly with him shooting only 36 percent from the field.
Lillard is great, no doubt about that! But there’s a reason people mention Curry more often when talking about elite shooters. Curry has shot above 40 percent from three almost every season; even his worst was better than Lillardโs career average of .371 from three-point range.
What do you think? Does Damian deserve more credit?
