The city has a thousand people, and the people have a thousand things. A person chooses a city, not because of the moon, not because the lights are on, just to protect the city.
In the NBA, winning the championship trophy is the goal that all players have been pursuing, in the summer offseason of recent seasons, the team's superstars have changed teams, and the swarm has become a storm tide, and the final reason for this is nothing more than clinging to that basketball dream, that is, the championship of the NBA. But there is a man who does not follow the tide and will always stick to portland, Oregon, and he is Damien Lillard, a man and a city in his life, loyalty is a great, great and ordinary.
Lillard
Lillard was born on July 15, 1990, in Oakland, California, one of the highest crime rates in the United States. The city was full of guns, drugs, crime news could be heard almost every day, and some of his friends or relatives were criminals. Although the living environment is very poor and the family is poor, fortunately, Lillard can get out of the mud in such an environment without staining, thanks to his parents. Lillard's parents told him from an early age to stay away from drugs and not to do illegal things, while teaching him all kinds of ways to behave in the world. This kind of education played a crucial role in Lillard growing up.
Lillard in training
Due to the influence of the living environment, Lillard was often bullied from an early age, and in order to forget these unpleasant things, Lillard indulged in basketball every day. Lillard's grandfather saw that he liked basketball so much, so he used the remaining milk cartons at school to make a simple basket in his front yard through his own modification, so that he could play basketball close to home. It can both allow Lillard to play and protect Lillard from being bullied by others. So, through this simple basketball hoop, Lillard began his unique story with basketball, and his strength became stronger step by step.
Lillard as a teenager
In high school, Lillard frequently transferred to many schools due to race, varsity and other issues. In the first three years of high school, his grades were not outstanding, and he failed to play at the level he should have, until the last year of high school, Lillard's results had a qualitative leap, playing a strong performance, averaging 28 points per game, and 45 points in a single game, which made him famous and began to be concerned by various universities.
Lillard in high school
In 2008, he failed to be recruited to prestigious universities and eventually entered Weber State University. Although not the university Lillard expected, he did not give up his professional basketball path, and with his excellent performance, Lillard quickly established a position in the team and became the core player. In college, no matter how much luck in training, Lillard gritted his teeth and persevered, and naturally his performance improved from 11.5 points and 2.9 assists per game to 24.5 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game. Finally, in the 2012 NBA Draft, he was selected by the Portland Blazers with the sixth pick in the first round, starting his NBA journey.
2012 NBA Draft
In his first season in the NBA, Lillard delivered a satisfactory answer. If you talk about who debuted in the league, I believe many people will say James, but there is still one person who has been forgotten by you. That's right, he's Lillard, an underrated superstar. After entering the NBA, Lillard has always had strict requirements for himself, and that season Lillard pressed the thick eyebrow brother of the year and won the honor of the best rookie. After seeing his wonderful performance, the Blazers management decided to make Lillard the cornerstone of the team and began to rebuild the team with him as the core.
In the league, Lillard is often considered a super scorer, so his talent for career assists is often overlooked. In fact, he averages 6.48 assists per game, and the assist rate can reach 30.0%. The second is his turnover rate, averaging 2.77 per game, which is a relatively small number.
Career statistics
Then analyze Lillard's shot position, from the shooting heat map, we can clearly see that Lillard has a very high number of shots outside the three-point line and in the box, and likes to shoot in the middle of the court, and the number of shots is relatively small.
Shooting heat map
Lillard once said: "When the team needs me, I have to hit the shot. ”
As the NBA's biggest heart player today, Lillard has many recorded kills, including 2 games that are the most famous.
On May 2, 2014, the Rockets vs. Blazers
Lillard kills rockets
With 0.9 seconds left in that game, the Rockets were 2 points ahead, and the score of the entire series was that the Blazers led the Rockets 3-2, and many people thought that the game was going to enter the game of seven, who expected Lillard to use this 0.9 seconds to complete the kill. At the beginning of the game, the Blazers served from the sideline, Lillard received the ball and shot a meter outside the three-point line, went through the frame into the net, and sent the Rockets home directly, and the whole field boiled.
On April 24, 2019, the Thunder vs. Blazers
Lillard killed the Thunder
Lillard drove the world crazy in this game, and in the face of the Thunder with two of the league's top ten superstars, Lillard led the Blazers to show the world his strength. Not only did he score 50 points, but he also killed the Thunder with an incredible super-long three-pointer. Facing paul George, the league's top defender, with the final 2 seconds left in the game, Lillard suddenly took a step back, pulling out three-point shots at 11.2 meters, and the ball came on. After scoring, the arrogant Lillard pointed to the dial on his wrist, glanced in the direction of the Thunder, waved goodbye, and never returned. The Thunder didn't lose to any counterpoint or strategy, they only lost to Lillard, to an unreasonable three-pointer.
The main color of success does not have to be bright, but it must have its own color. Great and ordinary are the best annotations to Lillard.
Lillard classic moves
In the era of superstars, Lillard never changed teams, and he watched the roses of the torn land alone, which was a very valuable quality of loyalty. Counting the players in the league, there are not many players who have played for the same team all their lives. Because of Lillard's loyalty and ability to have a big heart on the pitch, he is called the next "Mamba" by fans, and he is the most "Mamba" spirit player in the active campaign.