Actual NBA superstars are rare. The kind who are so good, we know who they are on a first-name basis. LeBron. Giannis. Steph…
Dame. Recognizing Damian Lillard as one of the NBA’s elite is long overdue. So why was he snubbed six times?
Well, that's why we are here my friends. To figure out what in the heck happened to this wickedly talented Portland Trail Blazers superstar.
If it weren’t for coaches vouching for him, Damian Lillard wouldn’t have made the 2014 All-Star team, and if it weren’t for Blake Griffin’s quad injury, he wouldn’t have made it in 2015.
And, you know what, it got snubbier. Lillard missed the 2016 and 2017 All-Star Games entirely, and America chose five other NBA point guards before him for the 2016 FIBA World Cup.
Why? Why is the world so cruel? Such a fine, hard-working fellow like Damian Lillard surely deserves to more respect, right? Well, Dame-Snubs didn’t start in the NBA. It began long ago. Well before anyone even knew who he was. Don't believe me? Check out the following for the proof in the pudding, pal!
Lillard was a two-star high school recruit, played his collegiate ball for a program called Weber State. For those who don’t follow the unpaid NCAA laborers all that closely, you might be keen to believe it’s a fictional university. Heck, if I told you Damian Lillard played for the University of Broken Dreams or the Club State Pool Cleaners, given the majority of the entire planet never saw him play college hoops, you just might believe me.
Sure, shooty hoop die-hards know of the school, but does your Uncle Ben? The dude who only follows the sport when he can fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket based off school mascots?!
It didn’t matter, Dame went top six in the 2012 NBA draft. It was here where he was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers. A fine NBA franchise with a passionate and rabid fan base in Portland. You don’t see people donning Blazers uniforms in the Midwest or going to the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Scranton, Pennsylvania wearing a Damian Lillard jersey.
I mean, they should, but aren’t. Rather, they’re still unironically wearing Eddy Curry/Knicks jerseys.
Based on the west coast, with tired east coast fans crashing early despite access to league pass or their illegal nba streams, it makes some sense why most fans have taken this long to realize just how special Lillard is. After all, a fan can’t be dreaming about dates with Emilia Clarke and watching Dame drop buckets at the same time.
But that’s not fair to Damian Lillard. How can someone with historic talent, decorated accolades, the purest of reputations still lack respect?
Seriously, how?
How does rookie Lonzo Ball get hundreds of thousands of more All-Star votes than Dame? Not only that, how does Lonzo Ball get more rap cred than Dolla Dame?!
“I ain’t make the All-Stars, but I’m flu game sick. Last time they count me out? What I do Game 6?”
That’s right, Damian Lillard’s lack of respect has seeped into his personal life. And that’s just crazy. So let’s fight crazy with crazy.
If we want to get hyperbolic about it, we can. In fact, we will. While not nearly the same naturally gifted athlete, for those who ever wondered what Russell Westbrook would look like if he could actually shoot, he’d look a lot like Damian Lillard… minus the pettiness.
For every NBA fan who wonders what-if scenarios with talent trotting about the league, we don’t need to invent such tomfoolery for another legitimate superstar to be born.
While many players around the league are wickedly talented, even bordering on great and possibly stardom, they’re not on the Lillard’s level… and it’s about time we recognize that.
Damian Lillard has been a staple in the NBA for years now. He’s made it to the playoffs in many of those voyages, averaging roughly 24 points per game in the postseason. He’s the real deal. He’s also an actual superstar.
He’s not LeBron. He’s not Giannis. But he’s also not an underachiever or someone who needs to latch on to other superstars to gain clout.
His name is Damian Lillard. His friends call him Dame. Next time you say his name, put some respect on it.
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