Is Damian Lillard right to put his legacy before rings?

PORTLAND, OREGON – DECEMBER 29: Damian Lillard # 0 of the Portland Path Blazers is launched as a part of the beginning lineup earlier than the sport towards the Utah Jazz at Moda Middle on December 29, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: Consumer expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or utilizing this {photograph}, Consumer is consenting to the phrases and circumstances of the Getty Photos License Settlement. (Photograph by Soobum Im/Getty Photos)

The NBA is a spot stuffed with informal followers and the most well liked of sizzling takes, and few gamers have fallen sufferer to this extra in current instances than Damian Lillard of the Portland Path Blazers. A small market darling and franchise cornerstone for nearly a decade, Lillard is the proprietor of not one however two collection game-winning pictures within the playoffs. Rarified air.

He was additionally lately named one of many 75 greatest NBA gamers of all time which, for those who take a look at it, is pretty contentious. The purpose of constructing it to the league is to be a famous person, make a great deal of cash, have a signature shoe, and be acknowledged each within the Corridor of Fame (Lillard goes in in the future) and on lists like the highest 75 gamers that lately got here out. So what’s the downside?

Nicely, it seems to be at this level that Damian Lillard is rarely going to win a championship with the Path Blazers, and it annoys folks that he’s comfortable with that.

Damian Lillard is the latest, and in a variety of methods polarizing, instance of what it means to fly within the face of “ringzzz” tradition. The earlier greats who by no means received a championship, resembling Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, and Karl Malone, tried as exhausting as they may all through their careers to get there. Except Miller, they moved round to strive in an try and get it performed.

Lillard although, very similar to Russell Westbrook, has a much bigger image strategy. He will get to play the sport he loves and be the point of interest of a corporation. He’s blissful the place he’s, wholesome, and has a household to consider. Which actually is what life is all about, so you would argue Lillard has truly figured all of it out in a approach that these caught within the rat race and want for validation by no means do.

However there are loads who see that because the mentality of a loser. A participant blissful to show up and receives a commission, but in addition get bounced as soon as the video games actually begin to matter within the postseason. Is that truthful? In any case, Lillard has been an elite expertise for a very long time, and the very best the Path Blazers may muster round him have been LaMarcus Aldridge and later CJ McCollum (now doing bits in New Orleans).

“I do need to win a championship however it’s different stuff meaning extra to me. It’s nearly like I’m not keen to promote myself out for that. When my profession is over and I’m gonna know the relationships that I’m gonna have. I’m going to know the individuals who knew I used to be strong with them no matter if I used to be on the high or if I management it”.

That was Damian Lillard speaking to Sports Illustrated again in 2019, and though his tune modified in a more moderen dialog with Bleacher Report, the principle level has remained the identical. Lillard would like to win, however he desires to do it in Portland and never promote out by going to a market like Los Angeles or San Francisco to take action.

Is that fallacious? Will he undergo due to it? There’s little question that having a hoop offers some form of validation, to followers of that participant at the very least, and we solely want to take a look at two examples to see that Lillard’s legacy may truly be tarnished if we’ve got certainly seen the very best of him due to a troubling belly harm.

Chris Paul has by no means received a championship, and if he retires with that being the case, his earlier playoff chokes shall be held towards him. Quite the opposite, Dwight Howard did win a title with the Los Angeles Lakers within the bubble, however that was as a job participant. Had that by no means occurred, wouldn’t it diminish the very fact he was as soon as a three-time Defensive Participant of the Yr? That he carried the Orlando Magic to the 2009 NBA Finals?

The 12 months he received the championship, Howard averaged 2.8 factors and a couple of.8 rebounds in 11.8 minutes of recreation motion throughout six video games versus the Miami Warmth. Does that magically make him a greater participant as a result of all of a sudden there was some {hardware} on the finish of a season the place he was 34 and a job participant?

Howard didn’t make the NBA 75 listing, and he had a greater statistical case than Lillard. So perhaps none of this issues. Is it higher to be beloved forevermore in a metropolis the place you didn’t win a title, like Stockton and Malone in Utah, and Lillard in Portland? There’s a sure appeal to that.

It hyperlinks `Lillard to a spot greater than say, Kevin Garnett, who grew to become an excellent participant with the Minnesota Timberwolves, however truly received over the hump with the Boston Celtics. Clearly, successful a title with the Path Blazers can be the last word aim, however perhaps it’s higher to be loyal than to have received a hoop in a spot the place you’ve gotten little affinity, like Howard. Then once more, Howard might need a unique opinion on that.

It’s a fascinating query that we are going to by no means really know the reply to. Followers need titles to validate why the participant they love is best than others. True followers and gamers alike know that there’s much more that goes right into a profession than championships. If Damian Lillard stays in Portland and by no means wins one other playoff collection once more, his legacy there may be safe perpetually. Exhausting to place a value on that.