How Lillard’s Accidental Trash Talk Led to Steph’s 62-Point Game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Even some of the best shooters get handed the ball, and that’s exactly what happened to Damian Lillard, eight-time NBA All-Star during the 2020-21 season.
And like many others in the league, it came at the hands of Warriors superstar Steph Curry.
Before joining Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, Lillard spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers, which means at least three games with his hometown team in the Bay Area.
While Lillard’s homecomings are often special, he explained in the “Get Got Pod with Marshawn Lynch and Mike Robinson” as a visit to san francisco It was one to forget.
“Like three years ago, it was after the Warriors had a lot of injuries, and this was after they won their first couple of championships and were struggling,” Lillard explained. “People were double-teaming Steph, triple-teaming Steph. We played them back-to-back in San Francisco. So we played them the first time and beat them. We did the same thing the other teams (were doing) with Steph, we were double-teaming, switching and (the media) said, ‘Dame, teams are giving a lot of attention to Steph, they’re fouling him, they’re being physical with him.’
“And I was like, ‘Yeah, I know how it feels because when my team was down, we were fighting and they didn’t respect who was on the court at the time. They were protecting me like that.’ “For years, Steph had played with a lot of veterans, they knew how to give him the ball, they knew how to open it, they knew how to play, I said, but now he sees something different because now it’s different.”
But the way it was interpreted and conveyed by the media was not the way Lillard expressed it.
However, whether Curry knew it or not, he responded the only way he knew how.
“And they took him and spun him around like I was saying, ‘Now you see what he’s like, now he’ll see if he can still do it.’ But really, I fuck with Steph. I would never say anything weird about Steph. I wouldn’t do it with anybody, but I definitely not with him because I respect him. I play again two days later and Steph goes out and shoots all the time. Obviously, he’s a competitor, so I’m going to try to get to him just like he’s going to try to get outside and he’s shooting. , shooting, shooting. And Steph He’s the type who’s not going to announce things like, ‘I heard what you said’ or ‘You said this, you said that,’ he’ll just come out: he’s a real competitor.
“Then he comes out and he’s hitting 3 after 3 after 3. And my first thought is I don’t care. I didn’t mean it that way and I don’t care if you try to make a statement because you thought I said it that way. It is what it is. ‘He ended up having like 62. He was running around celebrating, so after the game I shake his hand and I’ve got my ass.’ “My comments weren’t even a chance, but I definitely got it that day.”
Hey, lady, it happens to everyone.
Luckily for him, he’s now in the Eastern Conference and only has to face Curry in the Bay Area once a season. And by now you’ve probably learned to choose your words more carefully.
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