After 2 mostly unremarkable exhibition games for Team USA, it seems as if Damian Lillard’s status with the team is firmly up in the air. There appear to be a group of 7 or 8 “locks” to make the squad, leaving the remaining 8 players to battle over the final 4 roster spots. Even with LeBron James, Kevin Durant and a majority of the top-level superstars staying home for this year’s incarnation of the team, the competition for the final spots will be fierce. No matter who makes the final roster, there are going to be great players heading home.
Conventional wisdom says that playing for Team USA is the kind of opportunity that simply cannot be replicated and is the perfect springboard for many players to go from nice up and coming player to full-fledged superstar. The opportunity to play with and compete against the best in the world, while working day-in-day-out with some of the best the coaches in the game, is something that simply cannot be replicated anywhere else.
On top of that, it’s an opportunity to develop relationships with other elite players, which, in the era of superteams, may be the most beneficial of all. No longer do top players look at each other as enemies to vanquish on the way to the top. Instead, the NBA seems more and more like a high school, with the superstars all hanging out together at the “cool table” at lunch, where the seats are all invitation only.
Basically, once you’re deemed a “cool kid”, you’re a Made Man at NBA High, and there’s no better way to get that coveted invite than spending all summer hobnobbing with those who’ve already made it. And, if things go right, all of a sudden all the cute girls will want to come hang out at Dame’s party in Portland, hoping for him to bring them to the NBA Finals … I mean, prom (ok, I think this analogy has run its course).
Any way you look at it, the upside is obvious, and because of that, every player wants to make the team. Lillard is no exception.
However, when viewed through the eyes of a Blazers fan (and the organization), could there be some very real advantages having Damian Lillard NOT making the team? I’d argue, yes. In fact, I might even take it a step further and say that it would be better, in the long run, for him to be sent home by Coach K and staff. And, not simply because I’ve been having horrible reoccurring night terrors of Paul George’s horrific leg fracture.
Yes, injury concerns (as well as general fatigue) are definitely a part of it, but it’s not like Lillard is going to simply sit at home and play Madden with Dave Franco’s girlfriend if he gets cut. Sure, he might take a few days off, but, more than likely he’ll be right back in the gym, playing ball, and busting his butt in preparation for the season.
And, while George’s injury provided an “I told you so” moment for everyone who’s ever questioned the idea of NBA athletes playing for Team USA, it was really just a reminder that a player can get hurt anytime and anywhere. Unless you are planning on wrapping him in bubble-wrap 24/7, injuries are a part of the game. (And, if we’re being real here, I think he’d be much more likely to get injured if he tried to play covered in bubble-wrap than in gym shorts and a t-shirt, but, that’s a topic for another day).
So, if not for fear of injury and fatigue, why would we, as fans, ever consider rooting AGAINST one of our guys from reaching what is one of the pinnacles of the sport?
Because, if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Damian Lillard since he’s arrived in Portland, it’s to doubt him at your own risk. Tell him he can’t do something, and he’ll make it his mission to prove you wrong. He’s made a career out of it.
From the moment he stepped off the plane in Portland to meet with Paul Allen and the Blazers brass before the 2012 NBA Draft, it was clear that Lillard was a special kind of guy. Most players wow owners and coaches during workouts with skill and athleticism. In the case of Damian Lillard, he made his strongest sales pitch during a dinner with Paul Allen, where Allen (a guy who knows a thing or two about successful people) noticed something special.
He has that quiet, steely confidence that typically comes with age, but, just seems so natural for Lillard. When he couldn’t get playing time at one of the top prep schools in Oakland, he simply transferred to a school where he could get on the court and then dominated the competition on the way to first-team all-league performances during his junior and senior years.
When coaches and scouts still doubted him after tearing up the Oakland Unified School District, labeling him a 2-star prospect, he wasn’t discouraged, he was motivated. With only one scholarship offer in hand, he packed his bags for Ogden, UT and did what he does best: prove the doubters wrong. Not only did he win Big Sky Freshman of the Year, he was named First Team All-Conference. By his junior year, he was the second leading scorer in the country and he was being talked about as a probable mid-1st round pick in the NBA Draft. Any higher than that would be crazy for a guy from a mid-major who was unproven against top competition. Right?
Well, as we all know by now, Lillard’s stock soared once teams saw him up close and realized that this unheralded guy out of Weber State was the real deal. And, although he climbed all the way up to #6 in the draft, many still doubted whether he’d be a big time player in the league due to his lack of facing elite competition in college and his “advanced” age at the time of the draft (22).
So, he simply went out and won every single Western Conference Rookie of the Month, on his way to only the 4th unanimous Rookie of the Year award in NBA history, hitting benchmarks along the way that only the likes of Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Isaiah Thomas and Allen Iverson ever reached.
Yet, still, in the eyes of many, he wasn’t destined for greatness. A nice player, but, with limitations. Even if he were to someday down the road make an All-Star team, he’d never become a true superstar. He wasn’t explosive enough. Didn’t have the personality to carry an ad campaign. Lacked that certain charisma that it takes to ascend to the NBA elite. Heck, even the most die-hard Blazer fans would have agreed with most of those points.
Now, a year later, we just got done watching Damian eviscerate each one of those notions one by one. He was the only second-year player to make the 2014 NBA All-Star game, and he became the first player to participate in all 5 All-Star events in the same year. He became only the 4th player in NBA history to seal a playoff series with a buzzer beating shot. He scored the 3rd largest endorsement deal in the NBA (according to USA Today), starred in national TV spots, even transcending his sport by showing up in a recent ad for Madden 15. And, maybe even more impressive than that, he’s made the Blazers one of the “it” teams in the NBA, helping secure 23 nationally televised games this upcoming season.
Exceeding expectations is nothing new to Damian Lillard. In fact, it’s getting to the point that it’s almost surprising when he doesn’t. Heading into these Team USA trials, Lillard was considered by most to be a bit of a longshot, but, he’s slowly played himself to the brink of making the team. And, while I wouldn’t dream of doubting his ability to sneak on to the squad, work his way into the rotation, and then sink a dagger 3 in the Gold Medal game, there’s a part of me who gets just a little giddy at the idea of him getting sent home.
Because, if there’s one thing we’ve seen time and again from Damian Lillard, it’s that he takes a seemingly gleeful joy in proving his doubters wrong. So, while I’d love to see him represent Team USA in the upcoming FIBA World Cup, there’s a part of me who really wants to see what happens if Coach K tells him that he’s not good enough. You know that he’d take it personally, using it as motivation to drive him even harder and farther than before. Considering how good he’s already proven himself to be, the idea of added motivation is a positively scary thought. Well, for the opposition, that is. For Blazers fans, it’s kind of a wonderful thought.
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