Latest Damian Lillard Interview Simplified: 30 Minutes of Brutal Honesty on Stephen Curry, Miami Rumors and More Broken Down Just for You

Damian Lillard has a clear agenda now, he is done with not having a championship. He is done with the Trail Blazers. He is on a warpath to climb to the top of the league. During his interview with YouTube Channel Come And Talk 2 Me’s show It is What It Is, he gave a lot of insights. We got to know what Dame thinks about subjects like the GOAT PG debate. He relayed his thoughts on why a ring is important to him. He also cleared the air on why he had to take a drug test after dropping 71 points.

The high-scoring Guard divulged into the subject of separating with long-time Guard partner CJ McCollum. He went into several other intriguing subjects. Here is a detailed look at what the Guard said to Cam’Ron, Mase, and Treasure “Stat Baby” Wilson. With the two rappers in the crew, the hip-hop artist and hooper looked quite at home.

Dame puts his rapping skills over Shaquille O’Neal’s

While Lillard’s sharpshooting skills have been lauded, his hip-hop game is no less admired. Therefore, in 2019, he had no hesitation when he said he was the best rapper in the NBA to Joe Budden. After that, Shaquille O’Neal released a “Freestyle” meant to be a Damian Lillard diss. Damian also released a response track and dissed Shaq in his “Reign Reign Go Away”. Shaq released a counter to it and so did Damian with his ‘I Rest My Case’’. Therefore, these two had a legitimate rap beef.

Since Cam’ron and Mase are renowned rappers themselves, this issue intrigued them a lot. And they gleefully asked Lillard to lay out the details. Lillard argued, “I was trying to give Shaq his love. It is what it is. He was platinum, he did his thing. I was saying as an artist, you just go straight to who raps better. Whose stuff is better?. I said I think I am the best. So, Shaq got mad. I wouldn’t even say he got mad, he just felt like, you not better than me and dissed me. That’s how it turned into a little back-and-forth. I ain’t seen nobody say he beat me.”

Of course, DAME D.O.L.L.A backs his rapping skills considering how much flow and swag he has. Going up against a well-respected OG Diesel is no easy feat, but the Guard always backs himself whether on the court or off the court. Last season, the Guard dropped 71 points and a drug test came about. 

On being drug-tested and Scoot Henderson

When asked about the oft-discussed matter, last season, the Guard didn’t seem to make much of it. Mase asked, ”When they drug-tested you, were you offended about that?”. To this, the Guard replied, ”I mean, it’s decided in advance. It ain’t like they were just randomly like oh we gotta randomly drug test you. You just don’t know so I mean I wasn’t”. Mase then realized, “Oh, it wasn’t because of the 71”. 

Lillard replied, “No, Everybody when they report, they make it seem, oh he got reported, he got tested because he had 71. There’s games where you had 21 and you and you get tested. But don’t nobody tweet or Instagram nothing about that sh** because it ain’t the same story”

After that, he had to answer if something else offended him. Did he get offended when the Trail Blazers picked high-scoring Guard Scoot Henderson?

He clarified, ”No. Me and Scoot, we’ve had a few conversations with him coming into the league. That wasn’t a deal breaker for me at all. I respect his game. I think in that position he was the best player available, so that’s what you’ve gotta do if you’ve got the pick. But no, I wasn’t offended at all, because at the end of the day, you’ve gotta come in and play. I’ve been doing this for a long time, so to me that wasn’t a knock on me or anything.”

Then he touched upon a subject that remains the hot talk. Superstars seeking change in landscapes regularly.

On not liking Harden’s approach and the importance of a ring

When asked about how he feels about superstars like James Harden hopping teams, he said, ”I mean, I don’t go into no situation just expecting to just have all my way. You have what you want, what your desires is. Just because somebody else is willing to go whatever route they go. There are certain things that I am not gonna do, that’s just because it ain’t a part of who I am”.

Clearly, Dame is no fan of the approach undertaken by Harden. However, regarding his own trade request after ten years with the Blazers, Lillard expressed that he wants to win a ring now. He feels like legends like Charles Barkley and Karl Malone don’t get their dues because they don’t have a chip. 

He elaborated, ”Because you don’t have a ring yet and I’m just like that’s before I was in the NBA that’s how I viewed it for players that they talked about like that like when they talk about Charles Barkley I’m like how y’all speaking on Charles Barkley like this right you know I’m saying like you don’t got to ring Karl Malone don’t got a ring like these is real Legends”.

On CJ, his tough NBA journey, agitators, and the Poole-Dray saga

Then the Guard went on to talk about his long-term partnership with CJ McCollum. He knew the end of the road was near. When asked about the CJ trade to the Pels and if Anfernee Simons’ rise was related to that, he stated, ”No, I don’t think so. I think me and CJ were in backcourt for like eight years. And we both was making a lot of money. But we were like-size, our game was real similar. You know I feel they knew that it was time for us to figure out a different situation. Me and CJ have talked about that for years. We knew that this was gonna happen”

The Guard also talked about his own journey to make it as an NBA player. Coming out of high school, he was just a two-star recruit and played for an obscure program like Weber State. The PG says, “Growing up I played for the local program I didn’t play for like a big AAU program… we was selling candy raffle tickets. I grew up with the coaches that used to give me rides and sh*t home from practice and feed me.”

This brings a question, amid Miami Heat rumors, if Lillard would have loved to stay with the Trail Blazers. The tight-lipped Guard had already received a memo from the league for violating norms that pertain to restricting players from openly stating a trade destination. Still, the Guard took the crew by surprise and said,”In a perfect world, I could spend my entire career in Portland”.

Then he dived into the subject of NBA players like Paul George and Patrick Beverley and talking trash to him. Beverley had once mocked Dame when he missed two late-game free throws. This is why, he didn’t forget to mention the time he knocked out George in 2019 after hitting a series-sealing three. He said, ”They know what I do. Anytime it’s a back and forth, if I feel like there is disrespect involved, Imma go straight to disrespect.” The clutch phenom had also knocked out Pat Bev and the Rockets in 2014 by hitting a game-winner over Chandler Parsons.

As the quarter dived into the matter of disrespect, Treasure “Stat Baby” Wilson brought up the incident with Jordan Poole. It happened when the former Warriors athlete was a rookie. Wilson stated that there is a belief that “you don’t like Jordan Poole”. Replying to this, the Guard said, ”That’s false though”. After nailing a step-back triple, he directed slurs like “Bit*****” towards Dame. Then he recalls the former Warriors shooter chirping behind him at the free-throw line. This made an irritated Lillard say, “Man, shut up! Draymond tell that to shut up”. To this Poole replied, ”you make me shut up”. Then a back-and-forth ensued. He then hinted that his post-game clip was cut. This created the impression of him not liking Poole. In that vein, Cam’ron asked if Lillard was “surprised” when Draymond Green punched Poole, because “he talk likes that”. 

As someone who has had many battles against Green and has also talked trash with him, he expressed, ”Something must have happened to push him to the point. I don’t see Draymond like just clicking off like that in a heartbeat. So it had to be built-up, a lot of words being exchanged. So that was my first though, damn, he must be saying a lot of shit” He also wished that “Draymond didn’t do it”.

Lillard added, ”He one of those easy people to make look like the type he really ain’t, but off the court, he is a cool dude”. Lillard’s image is just the reverse of Dray. He has always been known for keeping things tidy. He doesn’t unnecessarily butt heads, but that is also because of his role as the offensive dynamite. But even apart from that, his focus is unwavering. This is why Cam’ron alluded to his “clean and cut” attitude. He doesn’t understand why a GM would want to trade someone like DAME D.O.L.L.A. He once again brought Harden into the conversation who is known for his extravagant ways like going to an Atlanta strip club during Playoffs. Cam’ron asked,”Do you think that played a part in it”.

Lillard then stated, ”I just rap. I hoop. I kick it with my family, cousins, my brother. That’s all I be on and that’s just boring. But I don’t think it play no role whether you’re gonna be able to get something done”. 

Then Mase threw a tricky question at the straight-forward guard. He asks him,”If you could win a ring or you could go diamond but you could only choose one. Which one would it be? ”

Then the disgruntled scorer went into declaring his best competition and who is the best PG of all time and in his era.

On GOAT PG and the best in his era

He replied, ”I want a ring, going diamond is crazy, but I feel like this is my lifetime investment. The ring is what it is for me.” Then Cam’ron asked him about the GOAT PG debate, which Stephen Curry instigated after declaring himself the best point guard ever. When asked about who is the best PG ever, Dame replied, ”I think Magic is the greatest point guard of all time. Just the way he dominated the game, the versatility, the size, the swag, and the flash.”

While discussing Curry, he brought in his playing experience against him. He relayed,”I think a lot of time, he is more in a shooting guard type of role, it is a lot of movement off the ball. Draymond is almost like the actual point guard of the team even though Steph is the Point Guard. I think if Steph in an offense like me, where it was required for him to have the ball more. We’ll get to see him do more Point Guard stuff”.

This gives Mase a great segue and he asks ,”Do you think Steph is better than you?”. Lillard said crisply, ”I don’t think nobody is better than me. I don’t think nobody is better than me when I step on the court.  That’s probably my greatest strength.”. Then he is asked, ”Do you think you are the best Point Guard in the league?”. Without hesitation, Lillard says, ”Yeah”. Then he names three players that he believes are the best. 

Lillard then admits, ”If the only Point Guard in the league is better than me, is Steph Curry.” Then he names, ”Steph, Kyrie Irving, and Russell Westbrook” as his best PG picks. After that, Dame Time referred to the beauty of Kyrie Irving’s game. He went on, ”Kyrie, really different. He’s the most skilled. He got the most beautiful game in history.” He later added, ”He probably was the first one you’ve seen do a lot of stuff. He just be making it up right there at the moment.”

After the crew went into some funny anecdotes, Wilson alluded to a clip where LaMarcus Aldridge makes Lillard do the hip-hop dance Dougie. She then asks if he makes the rookies do the same things. To this, he replied, ”Oh, they do that every year.” Then the show ended with the superstar handing gifts like his new shoes and an Adidas Pro basketball.

READ MORE: Did Damian Lillard Escape James Harden’s $100,000 Punishment With His “Perfect World” Comment?

Through this 30-minute interview, Lillard dispelled some myths, especially about the drug test. He went on about his favorite guards and overall, this was an exhilarating experience for many. Though he may have sounded a little contradictory at times, he was doing this on the fly. And he was trying to be candid as well. Overall, it looks like Damian Lillard is sure of what he does. This conversation comes at a crucial time when the Guard is done with the Trail Blazers. The Guard is done with losing. He wants a championship with all his heart.

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