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Damian Lillard feels he doesn’t get enough credit for being one of the best players in the NBA during his career.
“They definitely don’t talk about it,” Lillard said on the Club 520 “They act like I’m not doing what I’m doing. This will be my 13th season… My time in the league, when I think about all the people who have been really good over that time, there haven’t been a lot of people who have been there the whole time, since I’ve been in the league, who have just done it, over and over and over again. But I think people get tired of the consistency. And I’m not loud, but I’ve been doing it for so long and I’m winning.”
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Damian Lillard feels like he’s not getting the credit he deserves on the Club 520 podcast. What do you think? pic.twitter.com/5KbCkTQtnI
Lillard, 34, appears to have earned a lot of respect during his NBA career.
He was an eight-time All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA selection (once to the first team, four times to the second team, twice to the third team) and was selected to the The NBA’s 75th Anniversary Teammeaning voters chose him as one of the 75 best players in league history.
He earned the honor despite never winning a championship, and was one of 11 active players at the time named to the team, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook.
Lillard seems to be saying in part that he isn’t always recognized as one of the best shooters in basketball. Perhaps part of that is era: Stephen Curry is the best shooter in NBA history, while players like Klay Thompson and James Harden helped usher in the era of the three-pointer.
On the list Among the most three-pointers made in a season, Curry has recorded seven of the top 12 totals in league history, while Harden has made two appearances in the top 10 and Thompson has made one. Lillard’s best season in terms of volume came in the 2020-21 season, when he made 275 three-pointers, ranking 18th in NBA history. It was one of two appearances in the top 25.
He says most of his three-pointers are taken off the dribble, a more difficult shot than the catch-and-shoot shots Thompson often took. But Lillard’s penchant for making big, game-winning threes late in games is well-known — he wouldn’t say he’s particularly sloppy in the shooting department, either.
Athletes often motivate themselves by focusing on external criticism or outright making up stories about how they’re not getting the respect they deserve. Lillard’s recent comments feel a bit like one of those moments.
