New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum knows what his former Portland Trail Blazers teammate Damian Lillard is capable of, so much so that he has a rather funny challenge for him.
Speaking with Hoops Hype recently, McCollum talked about Lillard's commitment to the Blazers and how he is building a “lasting legacy” in Portland as the team's best player ever. Dame Time continues to climb the NBA leaderboard on various records as well, which, for McCollum, proves why the All-Star guard made it to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Amid Lillard's success and historic chase, though, McCollum revealed that he has one challenge to his ex-teammate that he often jokes about: “He’s still a very talented player. I joke with him all the time that if he doesn’t become a billionaire before this is over, you did something wrong.”
For what it's worth, Lillard's estimated career earnings (based on NBA salary alone) is at $233 million up to this 2022-23 season. After his $121 million extension last July, though, he is projected to end up with $450 million career earnings until the end of his current deal in 2026-27.
With that said, Damian Lillard is pretty far from CJ McCollum's billionaire challenge. He'll also be 36 by the time his current contract ends, so it's uncertain if he'll get another big payday in the NBA.
But hey, half a billion in NBA earnings isn't bad at all. Besides, we're pretty sure Dame has other focus right now with the Blazers, especially with the money aspect basically out of the way.
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