PLEASE READ (it just gets better as it goes on...): The enormity of what he had accomplished hit Damian Lillard on the streets of New York City nearly one year after his NBA career began. The unanimous Rookie of the Year voting, the sweep of Rookie of the Month honors, the first-team All-Rookie accolades didn’t sink in until he returned to the Big Apple with his mother for the 2013 Draft Lottery. There, on the crowded sidewalks frequented by celebrities every day, Lillard was one of them. DamianLillard_InsideOnly3“When we played in New York during the season, here and there somebody would be like, ‘Are you Damian Lillard?’” he said. “Then when I went to the Draft Lottery, I went shopping on the streets and the whole day I was out it was just nonstop people like, ‘Can I get a picture?’ ‘Can you sign that?’ In New York, there are stars all over the place so once that happened, that’s when I realized it changed.” Lillard, accompanied by the woman who has kept him grounded his whole life, was stunned by the attention. “This is the first time this has ever happened,” he told his mother. She laughed in disbelief as her son posed for photos and inked autographs in one of the biggest cities in the world. In just one season he had become one of the most notable names to watch in the league. Last season, Lillard took backcourts by storm after the Portland Trail Blazers selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. He averaged 19 points, 6.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game, played the most regular season minutes (3,167) and finished 10th in total assists (531). Along the way, he broke Stephen Curry’s record for most three-pointers in a season by a rookie (185) and joined the ranks of Oscar Robertson and Allen Iverson as one of the only rookies in NBA history to record 1,500 points and 500 assists in a single season. Lillard also took home hardware for winning the Taco Bell Skills Challenge during All-Star Weekend. Yet the laundry list of achievements didn’t translate into stardom to Lillard. He had spent his rookie year surrounded by family, friends and teammates who never altered their treatment, and a grueling schedule combined with All-Star Weekend obligations left him with little free time away from basketball. “I didn’t know anything else [last season],” Lillard explained. “I was at practice, home, game, travel, the same thing. I wasn’t hanging out enough or being around in public to where I could see people coming up to me and see things changing.” The reality is, Lillard’s life had changed. As last season progressed, he began to encounter celebrities who recognized him. When he met Lil Wayne at an event in Florida, no introduction was necessary. “He said what’s up and congratulations,” recalled Lillard. Then there was the run-in with his childhood idol, the former NBA player he only dreamed of meeting as a young kid growing up in Oakland. “When we played the Hawks in Atlanta last year we bumped into Allen Iverson and he knew who I was,” Lillard said. “I wasn’t going to say anything to him because a bunch of people ran up to him. Eventually we turned and made eye contact and he shook my hand. It was cool. He was my favorite player so it was cool that he knew who I was.” No, Lillard was certainly not a student on the campus of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah anymore. He was a pro athlete lighting up arenas around the NBA. But with the support and guidance of those close to him, he was able to stay the same in the new world he had just encountered. Lillard, 23, shares his Portland home with his mother. Gina Johnson still requires her son to take out the trash and clear his plate from the dinner table. “We live under each other’s roof, I would put it like that … It’s our roof, it’s our house,” Lillard said. He may be able to provide for his family now, but that doesn’t mean he can neglect the values and manners they instilled in him. “Nobody acts like I’m here and they’re there,” he said. “It’s easy for me to feel the same, to be the same person.” Lillard is living his life the way he always told himself he would if he made it in the NBA. Growing up, he didn’t have opportunities to meet professional athletes. Now he cherishes the time he spends visiting with children in the community. He vowed to give back and use his status for positivity if he was ever in the situation to do so. “I’ve heard how that type of person (a negative person) could make people feel and that’s not the type of effect I want to have on people,” he said. “We’re just basketball players and we’re fortunate to be in this position. I think if anything we should take advantage of the fact that we can influence a lot of people instead of thinking we’re above them. That’s why I want to always be me. I think it’s just a game of basketball.” This season, the Trail Blazers are 9-2 with the second-best record in the Western Conference behind only the San Antonio Spurs. Lillard is averaging 20 points, 6.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 37.0 minutes per game. His humbleness and modesty has also carried over into the locker room. Lillard’s teammates respect him for not only his game, but also for the way in which he carries himself so early in his high-profile career. “He’s so regular, which is crazy,” said Dorell Wright, who noted Lillard’s vocal leadership and sense of humor. “You always wish the best for those kinds of guys. I can only respect what type of person he is. … He’s a kid that came from a small school so you can start right there. Nothing was given to him. He had to work his butt off.” As a former teammate of LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers, Mo Williams has played alongside stars in the past. After spending time with Lillard in games and off the court, he can already spot long-term promise. “One thing I learned about superstars, playing with LeBron James for a few years, they’re very humble but at the same time they have a drive and they want to be the best and they take every challenge,” Williams said. “That’s one trait that he (Lillard) has. He doesn’t back down from anything. Not only that, he’s not a guy that thinks he knows everything, so he wants to get better every game. With all those characteristics, you can’t help but to prosper and get better. The potential he has, he has a chance to be really, really good. “He has an ego, but at the end of the day it’s an ego to get better, an ego to be the best, not an ego to think he’s already the best.” Just as fans flocked to Lillard on the streets of New York City last summer, they did the same prior to a recent game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. They screamed for the visiting player as he made his way off the court from a lengthy warmup, leaning over the railings to reach for an autograph or a photo. Ten minutes later he entered the locker room after fulfilling each of the requests, accommodating, humble, polite. “That’s how it’s supposed to be,” Lillard said. ©HoopsWorld (Link: goo.gl/TsPIYC)
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 00:46:59 +0000
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