Steph Curry and Draymond Green Praise Damian Lillard After Viral Postgame Interview
Damian Lillard was the talk of the basketball world on Tuesday night, leading the Trail Blazers to a shocking comeback win over the New Orleans Pelicans by dropping 50 points and 10 assists on just 20 field goal attempts. It wasn't just Lillard's best game of the season, but among the best of his Hall-of-Fame career.
Still, Portland's franchise player received nearly as much attention for his unbelievable performance as the incredibly thoughtful courtside interview he did after it. As of Wednesday morning, this specific video of Lillard detailing his path toward on and off-court greatness has been viewed over 1.3 million times.
Rip City faithful and basketball fans across the globe weren't the only ones left in awe of Lillard's humility and dedication. Even longtime rivals like Steph Curry and Draymond Green took to social media to praise him.
Lillard earned the respect of peers in the league long ago. His MVP-level play in 2020-21 amid Portland's rash of injuries, though, has no doubt sparked more frequent adulation from Lillard's NBA competition.
Of course, it's not like he avoids showing similar admiration for players on other teams. Lillard even singled out Curry unprompted while explaining to Shaquille O'Neal on the TNT broadcast how he's managed to continue extending his shooting range throughout his career.
"We got some great shooters in our league," he said. "Obviously, we think of Steph Curry first when we think of shooters – the greatest shooter to ever play in our league."
The Blazers-Warriors love fest continued once Lillard was able to reach his phone, too.
Game recognize game.