Damian Lillard is one of the only superstars of his generation who’s played his entire career for the team that drafted him into the NBA.
As such, Dame has never shied away from sharing his thoughts on why he believes he’s taking the right approach when it comes to chasing a ring.
While Lillard has yet to win a title, the 32-year-old future Hall of Famer has cemented his status as one of the greatest Portland Trail Blazers of all time, scoring six All-NBA selections, including one first-team nod (2018), four second-teams (2016, 2019-21), and one third-team selection (2014).
In a recent appearance on JJ Redick’s Old Man and the Three podcast, Dame shared why he doesn’t “enjoy what the NBA as a whole is becoming.”
“I feel like I play for the love of the game,” Dame shared. “I want the competition. I want to know what it feels like to win. I want to see my teammates do well. I want to see my teammates get paid. I enjoy the bonding part of it, like we spend more time with each other than anybody.”
Lillard continued, “While I understand we play to win championships—we all want to win the championship—we can’t keep acting like nothing matters. Like the rest of this stuff, the journey, doesn’t matter. We can’t keep doing that. … I don’t know if I can just play a long, long time, because I don’t enjoy what the NBA as a whole is becoming.”
Watch a sneak peak of Dame’s appearance on Redick’s pod in the video up top.
