Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard wants young hoopers today to know that there's more to playing basketball. That is why he is doing his camp different to ensure that kids are well prepared mentally.
Speaking during his Formula Zero camp, Lillard shared the common issue among young players today on how they lack humility. He noted how aspiring professional hoopers believe they can make it to the NBA easily without understanding how difficult it is to make it happen. The Blazers guard wants to change that mentality by showing youngsters how tough the journey is, what it takes to make it to the top basketball league in the world, and what they need beyond just talent to thrive and succeed in the sport.
“There's no humility. There's a lot of fake humility where people know how to play the role but they don't have people around them that's like showing them how to be and how to handle stuff so it's just natural [to them],” Lillard said, via ClutchPoints Twitter.
Damian Lillard also spoke about how the current mentality of young players are messed up because of other people “kissing their a**” and not letting them go through difficulties. He wants kids to understand that talent alone is not enough to make it to the NBA, as they also have to be prepared for all the setbacks that will come their way.
“It puts them in a position to where those things, it lets them down when they get to a professional environment and they talent can’t get them though. You got to be stable and strong mentally. You got to be sturdy. You got to have something that you can stand on because it gets tough. … I want to help these kids, they got all these followers on Instagram, but I wanna help them have the stuff that is not just a talent,” Lillard added.
While Lillard's assessment may seem harsh, he definitely means well. Not a lot of players today have the understanding of what they need for the NBA, and some doesn't have the right support group to help them navigate throughout the whole journey. The Blazers star is hoping he can pave the way for the youngsters so they won't commit the same mistakes their predecessors made.
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