The Portland Trail Blazers are the 2022 Summer League champions, but superstar guard Damian Lillard wasn't aware of it until Trendon Watford showed him his MVP trophy.
Lillard is away vacationing with his family, and so he only learned about the championship during an IG Live with Anfernee Simons. Watford hopped in on the stream to reveal to Lillard the awesome news, which naturally hyped up the Blazers guard.
Not even his wife Kay’la Hanson could distract Lillard from celebrating the Blazers' epic win on Sunday.
Damian Lillard was chillin with Anfernee Simons when he found out the Blazers won the Summer League Championship from Trendon Watford on IG Live 🤣🔥
(via @BlazersArgento) pic.twitter.com/jTJTy3ip5V
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) July 17, 2022
The Blazers beat the New York Knicks for the title, 85-77. Trendon Watford had a monster game with 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block. Portland used a dominant 29-16 second quarter to pull away, and they never looked back to secure the win.
While some would say that it's only a Summer League title, there's no doubt that it's still a huge milestone. After all, as Blazers GM Joe Cronin said, it's “an important developmental experience” that should help their young players develop that winning mentality. Not to mention that it showed “what they are capable of when they play together and defend at a high level.”
Damian Lillard clearly loves it as well, and who wouldn't? For a Blazers team hoping to contend for the NBA championship sooner rather than later to maximize Dame's prime years, the development of the young core will be crucial. The Summer League championship is just the first step. But it is definitely a big one that could very well set the tone for the youngsters for the upcoming 2022-23 campaign.
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