Before the blockbuster trade with Milwaukee Bucks, Damian Lillard has spent nearly a decade trying to build a championship contender in the Portland Trail Blazers. While the team has become one of the best teams in the Western Conference during that span, the Blazers hadn’t reached the conference finals until 2019. They ran into Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors, who swept them just as their dynasty was already on its last legs. After settling in with his new team, Damian Lillard wonders if he and All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge could have brought a ring to Portland.
Recently, Lady appeared on the Club 520 podcast with Jeff Teague, where they had a conversation about all things NBA.
“One thing I think about in my career is, ‘If he had never gone to San Antonio, we would have won at least once by now,'” he said in answer to a question about playing with the seven-time All-Star.
Dame Time before the Bucks
In 2015, LaMarcus Aldridge signs with the Spurs as a free agent, where he contributed to their playoff teams until injuries slowed him down. Then, in 2021, LA joins Brooklyn Nets He became a favorite for the title after forming a Big Three consisting of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. However, a diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmia eventually forced him to hang up his sneakers for good.
According to Damian Lillard, what would have happened if LaMarcus Aldridge had stayed with the Blazers?
“I could have blossomed, but he was so good,” he said. “He was so good.”
On the other hand, Lillard has also helped lead the Blazers to the playoffs throughout his career. He’s also scored some memorable moments, like the buzzer-beating three-pointers to eliminate the Houston Rockets in 2014 and the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2018. The second game-winning basket was even harder than the first, a 36-foot shot over Russell Westbrook that ended their rivalry.
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Even after falling in the standings, the Blazers still managed to qualify for the playoffs in the Orlando bubble as the eighth seed against the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers. After winning Game 1, the Blazers became the “best eighth seed ever” until the Lakers won four straight games to send them packing.
The last time Lillard led the team to the playoffs was against the Denver Nuggets in 2021, where they went home in six games in the first round. During that series, he also set a playoff record of 12 three-pointers made in the Game 5 classic in double overtime.
Can Damian Lillard Finally Win a Ring?
But when the Blazers finally decided to rebuild, they sent Dame to the Bucks, his best chance at winning his first NBA ring with Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks’ playoff failure last seasonDamian Lillard still has a better chance of winning a title in a relatively weak Eastern Conference. However, it remains to be seen whether Lillard’s years of hard work with his former team will finally pay off in June.
