Fresh off his fourth All-Star Game appearance, Damian Lillard has the Portland Trail Blazers in a position to make some noise once the playoffs roll around. Portland is currently at No. 4 in the Western Conference standings, and they’re poised to fight for an even higher seed once the second half of the regular season kicks off.
Of course, they were in a similar situation last spring, when they entered the playoffs as the three seed but were promptly swept out of the first round by the Pelicans. They’re motivated to avoid a repeat of that outcome, but not because they fear their star player might start looking for other opportunities for himself.
Lillard has been steadfast about his loyalty to the Blazers organization, which is a rare stance in today’s NBA where there’s so much jockeying to join up with other superstars to increase their chance of contending. In a recent interview with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, he explained what’s at the heart of that philosophy.
"I'm not willing to sell myself out for (championships)"@Dame_Lillard on why he hasn't left Portland.
The @Trailblazers All-Star joined @ChrisBHaynes on the latest episode of Posted Up… You DO NOT want to miss this!
➡️https://t.co/Kq6uHbx3hS pic.twitter.com/MxHIqF3vmp
— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) February 19, 2019
“Obviously, we all play to win a championship. Like, I want to win a championship. I compete to win a championship,” Lillard said. “But I’ve learned it’s about so many other things. When my career is over … I’m gonna know that I did it the right way. I took people’s situations and their families into consideration before I just made a decision based off alright, this is what would be best for me. This is what people wanna see me do … It’s almost like I’m not willing to sell myself out for that.”
Numerous players in the past have undermined themselves by making similar promises to their organizations and their fan bases about wanting to remain with their team and then later requesting trades or leaving in free agency, but Dame has been consistent from the beginning and certainly seems sincere.
It’s arguably led to some complacency within the organization as the front office continues to struggle to construct a roster that can legitimately contend. Still, it’s rare and refreshing to see a player who puts such an emphasis on the people around them above everything else.
