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LAS VEGAS – Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard celebrated his 31st birthday on Thursday in the entertainment capital of the world, a location he has settled for more than a week for the team’s training camp American for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
With each passing year, Lillard does extra work to refine his game and body composition to ensure that he gives the franchise the best version of himself in the hopes of winning a legitimate championship.
His appetite to see this come to fruition is insatiable, and that’s why his name was cemented in business rumors last month.
Lillard spoke to Yahoo Sports for an exclusive interview focusing on Team USA’s early struggles and where they stand today with the Trail Blazers.
Chris Haynes: How have you and your teammates dealt with the criticism the American team receives for dropping two exhibition games?
Damien Lillard: I haven’t dealt with the reviews, personally. We are naturally more critical of ourselves. We know we represent Team USA, and there is a reputation where we have always done the job. To come out of those first two games like we did, it was different. People were like, ‘What’s going on?’ But it’s pretty much a whole new team from the last Olympics. It’s the first time for a lot of guys and we’re younger. It takes time to transition as a team. In addition, the rest of the world is improving. You look at these other lists and there are five, six, seven guys in the NBA. They have been playing together for a long time. They’ve wanted to beat the United States for a long time, and for us we’re just becoming a team and we’re still working to become a team rather than a bunch of talented individuals.
CH: You said these other countries have caught up. Is it fair to think that the days of those huge blast games that Team USA used to throw regularly are over?
DL: Our attitude has to be that we are going there to win a gold medal, but we can’t go there with the attitude that it’s just going to happen. Because everyone has improved, we have to go there knowing we can be beaten. We’re known to win gold medals, and we should go out there wearing that as a badge of honor. We’re here to win it all, but it won’t just happen. We have to earn it. It is that simple. We’re just trying to keep moving in the right direction. Obviously we want to win and we try to win, but I think the focus has been more on us to improve ourselves and become more and more of a team. So when we get there, we know what to do.
CH: Did you get extra motivation for next season playing with the elite of the elite?
DL: I wouldn’t say it’s an additional motivation. I think it’s just something you want to embrace because it’s not normal for us to play together. We all play on different teams and when we come together it’s in an All-Star Game and it’s kind of a meaningless game. This is really the only opportunity where you have a team with almost all of the top players playing for something meaningful. It’s a wonderful feeling. So I just hug it and throw myself in and make the most of it.
CH: I have to ask you about your situation with the Trail Blazers. With everything you’ve done for the franchise on and off the field, do you feel like the same level of commitment has been reciprocated until you are in a position to secure your first title?
DL: To get to the NBA, I had to give everything. I was going to do whatever it took to win games. I didn’t come into the league worrying about what other people in the organization were doing. I didn’t come with that kind of mentality. But I’ve been active in probably 95% of the games in my career. I suffered injuries and participated in two reconstructions. I feel like I’ve been through it all with the Trail Blazers, and I wore this jersey as a badge of honor and with great pride and care. I never felt like my job was to criticize what others in the organization were doing. My job was to make sure the team was running and trying to lead it to the best results. I always assumed everyone’s mindset was the same. Even when I’m playing well and we fail at the end of the season, I go home and the first thing I do is look at myself in the mirror and tell myself that we haven’t won a championship. Or if I didn’t perform as well as I should have, I had to look at myself in the mirror and tell myself that my performance was unacceptable and that I need to do better. And then you’re going to do better.
I think that’s where we’re at as a team where all of us, not just me, not just my teammates, not just our new coaching staff, the front office, everyone in this organization has to looking at ourselves in the mirror because we have constantly arrived quickly. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and say I have to be better because whatever we do isn’t working and it doesn’t give us the chance to compete at the level we want to compete at.
CH: Knowing you and your position for years, why are these current times such a turning point for you?
DL: There are a few reasons: one being that I am not getting any younger. Our environment has always been great. We don’t lose much, but we were knocked out by a shorthanded Denver team that I think we should have beaten. I just came out really disappointed. I was like, ‘Dude, this is not going to work.’ We are not winning the championship, but we have a strong organization. We are not a franchise that loses every year and gets divided. We have positive seasons; we just don’t end up with a championship. So I feel like at this point I’ve basically made the decision that if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be where you’ve always been. Just like I hold myself accountable for poor performance or hold myself accountable for making sure I work my ass when I train, I have to be responsible for saying what needs to be said even if it’s not popular. And that comes with age. When I was younger I felt like I might not be in my place, but I feel like I earned the right to say we need to do better. We have to do better if we are to win at this level.
(Lillard will report on her future with the team after Team USA practice Friday.)
CH: Have you watched much of the NBA Finals?
DL: I haven’t really watched the games except a quarter here and there. I literally watched the last eight minutes the other night … It’s like you’re almost getting jealous. Like, damn it, I enjoy my experience with Team USA, but I’d rather be on the teams that are still playing.
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