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Portland Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard made history—again—with his second buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win a playoff series last April. A gutsy, long-range triple attempt over a defending Paul George went through for Lillard, cementing him as a postseason legend for the Blazers as the Oklahoma City Thunder were defeated in five games. We all know what happened next. In a great smidge of irony, the Thunder broke apart their team to begin a rebuild—George was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers to join Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook was dealt to the Houston Rockets to reconnect with ex-teammate James Harden.
The NBA on TNT's social media account got into the fun by dissing the imploding OKC franchise, clipping together a video shared on Twitter on Tuesday morning the juxtaposition of Lillard's already-iconic shot and the summer that unfolded for general manager Sam Presti and the Thunder.
The shot that changed everything. 👋 pic.twitter.com/JITYgccIUp
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) September 10, 2019
While Lillard tauntingly waved goodbye to the Thunder's season due to the buzzer-beating make, he also figuratively waved goodbye to two eras in basketball history—Westbrook's Thunder and Chris Paul's two-year tenure in Houston. Rockets GM Daryl Morey had to send the veteran floor general Paul to OKC, with draft picks, to acquire the former NBA MVP Harden in the offseason.
Additionally, George and Leonard's secret enclave deciding to land with the Clippers erupted a new era for L.A. hoops; one where the Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers should have much-anticipated matchups at the Staples Center four times a year.
