Damian Lillard: More than just a basketball player

Photo courtesy of Getty images

 As I mentioned in my previous blog post, Damian Lillard is my favorite athlete. And I thought it only seemed right to make another blog post about what makes him special. For all of the athletes I like, being my favorite must mean there is something unique about you that sets you apart. And that could not be more true when it comes to Dame.

I originally became a Lillard fan early in his career when he had a few games in a row where he was hitting super clutch shots and buzzer beaters. I had become a fan because I loved seeing him play fearlessly and hit so many clutch shots. But at that time, I did not realize that there is so much more to love about him than just those things.

First of all, I absolutely love Dame's loyalty. I am not knocking anybody, but in a time when players like to switch teams very frequently, it is really nice to see a guy as loyal as Lillard is. I just think it is cool because it is so rare nowadays. He has said multiple times over the past couple of years that he loves Portland and wants to finish his career there, and that there are things that mean more to him than winning a ring, and I respect that a lot. It is quotes like this that just really make me appreciate him for who he is:

Picture courtesy of Bleacher Report

Again, I just want to reiterate that I am not knocking anyone who decides to switch teams, but I just think it is refreshing to see a guy like Dame still around in the league.

Another thing that I think is really cool about Damian is his rapping career. He actually is pretty good at rapping and I think that is super impressive. He is doing it as a hobby and he is better than a lot of the rappers currently in the game today! He has even been able to make songs with some pretty famous artists, including 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne.

Dame has a bunch of cool nicknames that I feel like anyone probably would think are pretty sick. His rap name Dame D.O.L.L.A, his Logo Lillard nickname for hitting shots from the center court logo, and Big Game Dame. He also has probably the coolest celebration in the NBA, which is his Lillard Time celebration where he taps his wrist after he hits a clutch shot. It is a pretty iconic celebration at this point and he is pretty well known for it.

Lillard Time celebration. Photo courtesy of AfroBallers

All in all, I kind of feel like I just went on an annoying rant on why I think Damian Lillard is cool. I am  hoping that anyone possibly reading this will at least understand where I am coming from if they did not already before. I just respect the fact that Dame had to work super hard to get to where he is at today. He went from being not a very highly ranked prospect in high school and kind of flying under the radar for four years at Weber State to becoming one of the biggest superstars in the NBA today.

Dame D.O.L.L.A for MVP

Image courtesy of Football 24 News

    I would just like to start this off by saying something that I think probably needs to be said: I am certainly a little biased when it comes to talking about Damian Lillard because, to be honest, he is not only my favorite basketball player, but I can confidently say he is my favorite athlete of all time. I know, it is a bold statement. But there is just so much to like about the guy. My next blog post might have to be just me talking about all of the great reasons to like Dame. Enough with me being a fanboy. Lets talk about why he deserves to have more involvement in this season's MVP race, and why he might low key be a front runner, in my humble opinion of course. Oh, and if you are not aware, Damian is also a rapper and his rapping name is Dame D.O.L.L.A (D.O.L.L.A stands for different on levels the Lord allows. This will be something to go into more detail about in my next blog post).

Now, let's talk about why Dame deserves to be this season's NBA MVP. At 30 years old, Lillard has never won the MVP but has certainly had multiple MVP caliber seasons. This season definitely is no exception: as of right now, he is averaging 30.1 points per game and 7.7 assists per game while shooting 45 percent from the field, 37.8 percent from three, and 94.1 percent from the free throw line. On top of this exceptional stat line, the Blazers are sitting at 25-18 in the West, which puts them at the 6 seed. But the West is close, as it usually is, and they could easily move up or down a little as the season goes on. But if we are being honest here, the Blazers would be a lottery team if it was not for Dame. All you need to do is watch their games to know that he pretty much carries them. I do not want to take away from his supporting cast though. CJ McCollum has been an all star level player and formed quite the lethel duo with Lillard. There are a number of really solid role players around him as well, including future hall of famer Carmelo Anthony, Gary Trent Jr., Jusuf Nurkic, Enes Kanter, Robert Covington, Derrick Jones Jr., etc. I personally really like their team, but especially this year with the group of players around Dame.

Image courtesy of The Comeback. Lillard pulls up and hits shots from this deep on almost a regular basis, which is pretty scary. This is why he has been dubbed the nickname "Logo Lillard."

Lillard's ability to shoot the deep, and I mean DEEP ball is unmatched besides a guy named Stephen Curry (Damian is actually better from way deep than Curry statistically). The way that Lillard will pull up from barely within half court and nail shots on a pretty consistent basis is outstanding and something the league truly has never seen before. It also just totally changes the way he needs to be guarded. He literally needs to be picked up the moment he cross half court. If you give him an inch of space from anywhere he certainly is not afraid to chuck it, and he will make it pretty dang often, too. Dame also catches fire so often that he is easily one of the most feared players in the league, on top of being one of, if not the best closers the game has seen. On any given night it is no surprise to see him drop 50 plus, have a crazy game winner at the buzzer, or sometimes both.

With everything considered and with injuries to two of the top MVP candidates (Joel Embiid and LeBron James), I think that Dame sneakily has a very good case to be this season's Most Valuable Player. The way he wills his team to victory and controls games is really rare, and I think he deserves to win this award at least just as much as anyone else in the league right now.

Why the GOAT Debate is Unnecessary

Image courtesy of sportsmockery.com

The GOAT debate has become one of the most talked about topics in the NBA as a result of the career that LeBron James is having. Everyone has their opinion on who is the greatest player of all time, and people will fight tooth and nail over twitter or over debates to declare who is undoubtedly the best player to touch a basketball. The two players most debate about is Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Now, while I do have an opinion on who I think is the greatest player of all time, I have chosen to not include that in my blog post here because it would add absolutely nothing to it.

Both players make a compelling argument for being considered the greatest to ever do it. Michael Jordan is a global icon who completely changed the game of basketball with his style and swagger, while also absolutely dominating the league during his playing days, winning six NBA championships and 5 NBA MVP awards, along with many other accolades. He is one of, if not the most fiery competitor  the game has ever seen, as he is known to use anything as motivation and take everything personally. He was out there to rip the competition's heart out. He is certainly one of the greatest pure scorers that have played the game as well: he could score in several different ways with his excellent athletic ability, smooth footwork, and all around skilled offensive game. He was also known as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league at the time, and he even won a Defensive Player of the Year award in 1991. Jordan was widely considered to be the GOAT from his playing days up until LeBron started to dominate the league. Since then, it has been a hotly debated topic.

Even with the greatness of Michael Jordan, LeBron also brings a stellar list of qualifications to the table. So far, King James has won 4 NBA finals to go along with 4 NBA MVPs. He is well known for being such a well rounded player: he is a dominant scorer and facilitator who can guard all 5 positions and rebound the basketball effectively. He is known as a freak athlete whose combination of size, strength, speed, and leaping ability is something that the game has never seen before. LeBron is also highly regarded for his elite basketball IQ.

Image courtesy of nba.com

Everyone that pays attention to the NBA knows how special these two are. However, I think it is unfair to crown one or the other the goat simply based off of the fact that they played in different eras, and the NBA is always changing quite a bit. The game today is so much different than it was when Jordan played in the 80s and 90s. It is much more spaced out with shooters spreading the floor and it is also not as physical as it used to be. Granted, I think most great players would still be great in any era, but who knows how things would have unfolded if Jordan played today, or if LeBron played in the 80s and 90s. People like to use how many championships a player has won to determine if they are the goat. I consider that to be relatively unfair simply because of the fact that basketball is ultimately a team game. Even though one player can be capable of carrying a team, you usually need a really good supporting cast to go all the way.

All in all, NBA basketball has changed too much over the years to determine who the best player to ever play really is. Today, players are taller and more athletic than ever, but that doesn't mean basketball would be easier for a modern day player if they played in the 80s. There are rules in place to make the game easier for players to score the ball that were not there back in the day. Also, I think that NBA fans should just enjoy watching the great players that are in the league while they can. LeBron James is already 36 years old. Most players retire in their mid to late thirties, so who knows when LeBron will slow down and decide to call it quits. Its not every day that you get to see greatness like that, so, in my opinion, people should take a step back sometimes and just enjoy greatness.