For those selling the Portland Trail Blazers-Los Angeles Clippers rivalry, Damian Lillard isn't buying it.
Lillard was asked about the so-called “rivalry” between the Western Conference foes ahead of the latest Blazers-Clippers matchup. In a rather savage response, the All-Star guard questioned the premise of the question.
“I thought a rivalry was built on the court, you know what I'm saying? I don't think this is a rivalry,” Lillard said, via team reporter Casey Holdahl.
The Blazers (2-1) face off against the Clippers (3-1) on Wednesday night at the Staples Center.
The question to Lillard is clearly referring to his ongoing rift with Clippers wing Paul George. As ESPN's Royce Young laid out, it began when Lillard waved goodbye to George and the Oklahoma City Thunder after hitting a series-ending buzzer-beater in the first round of the 2019 playoffs. In his regrettable postgame remarks, George called Lillard's walk-off triple a “bad, bad shot.”
Lillard responded with a simple “Lol.”
Amid other social media antics, Damian Lillard and his Blazers teammate, C.J. McCollum, roasted George and the Clippers on Twitter after L.A. blew a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals.
I’ll bring the wine 🍷 . Weather nice as ever too https://t.co/oE0d6gPBPy
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) September 16, 2020
During the preseason, Lillard called George “Al Capone“—as in cap—after the Clippers forward said he wanted to retire with the L.A. franchise.
But while the beef has escalated largely off the court and on social media, it was heated enough in the bubble to where family members reportedly got involved, causing George to unsuccessfully try to make amends with Lillard.
For what it's worth, Lillard and the Blazers were 0-3 against the Clippers in 2019-20.
Follow Us
Subscribe