Damian Lillard is already one of the greatest guards in NBA history. At just 31 years old, he is a six-time All-Star, a one-time All-NBA First Team member, and a four-time All-NBA Second Team Member.
Beyond that, Lillard is also a former Rookie of the Year and led his Portland Trail Blazers to the playoffs for seven straight years.
His track record is beyond reproach.
Because of how good Lillard is, he has the unique ability to speak on certain hoops-related matters with an air of authority. And that is precisely what he did this past week.
During a recent podcast with Shannon Sharpe, Lillard got very honest about who was on his NBA Mount Rushmore.
“NBA players, I’m gonna go with MJ, LeBron, Kobe, and I’m gonna say Magic,” he said.
It may not seem like it, but this is a fairly controversial question to answer. Last month, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith offered a somewhat different perspective on his top four.
“The first three choices are easy for me,” he said at the time.
“I’ve got Michael Jordan. I think he’s the greatest of all time. I’ve got LeBron James. I think he’s No. 2 of all time. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won in high school, won in college, went to the pros, ended up being a six-time champion, a six-time league MVP, a 19-time All-Star and the all-time leading scorer in NBA history with over 38,000 points.”
That said, it’s not surprising that Lillard opted to go in a different direction. He often marches to the beat of his own drum. Whether he is giving his brutally honest advice to Russell Westbrook or offering his blunt thoughts on CJ McCollum – Lillard generally keeps it pretty real.
This was just the latest example of that.
Paige VanZant’s still got it. https://t.co/ne1hY2yjL7
— Game 7 (@game7__) April 4, 2022
All in all, this is going to be an interesting offseason for Lillard. It’s something of an open secret that he has his eye on one particular squad if he leaves the Blazers – but time will tell if anything will actually materialize on that front.
Will Lillard one day be mentioned amongst the greats he respectfully puts in his Mount Rushmore? Time will tell.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
