Damian Lillard speaks about the Olympic experience of playing with Zach LaVine
NBA players may compete against each other like there is no tomorrow, but underneath all that fire lies a camaraderie that binds them together as members of the same league and brotherhood. Damian Lillard, the Portland Trail Blazers' perennial superstar, recently spoke in reverence of his Olympic teammate and Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine about the experience they had together as members of Team USA.
Willing to sacrifice
With a talented roster led by one-time league MVP Kevin Durant and All-Stars Jayson Tatum, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker, Lillard knew there wouldn't be as much opportunity to be on the ball as he usually is with the Blazers. As it was, some form of sacrifice was necessary to make it all work. A teammate who clearly understood what was needed was LaVine, said Dame.
"I think there was so much talent on the team, we weren't going to have to do what we do for our teams on that Olympic team," Lillard said. "And Zach was just like, 'Whatever I gotta do, that's what I'll do. If I gotta pick up fullcourt, be a playmaker, be a spot-up shooter, I'm good.' He literally said that."
Lillard said it was refreshing to see someone break free of the scoring tasks that are often on their shoulders in the NBA and just be willing to do whatever it takes to help the team.
"It was fun to see a player of his type of ability embrace that role. Because he was so good at it. You don't have the responsibility of scoring and doing all these things, so he was flying around defensively, catching lobs, blocking shots, hitting open 3s," Dame added.
Run to the gold medal
While Team USA did not complete a perfect run—they lost to France 83-76 in the preliminary round—they made their way to the finals and exacted revenge on the French with an 87-82 victory in the gold medal game. LaVine, who ended up averaging 9.7 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game, said Lillard also sacrificed his game from the get-go, playing point guard and leaving the scoring reins to the likes of KD and Tatum.
"I think for a lot of guys with the Olympic experience, it showed what they were willing to sacrifice. For Dame, at the beginning, he was playing strictly point guard and not shooting the same way. He literally told everybody, 'I'm going to do whatever.' We had Kevin Durant, all these different great scorers on our team. So Dame was like, 'I'll facilitate if I need to. I'll play defense,'" LaVine said.
