Lillard: No one knew me when I was selected by the Trail Blazers, but I got all the Rookies of the Month

Damian Lillard, a backcourt star who was cut by the Milwaukee Bucks this summer, returned to the Portland Trail Blazers, recently interviewed by well-known NBA reporter Andy Katz, in which he also talked about reviewing his performance in his rookie season.

Lillard said: No one knew me at that time, so I needed to prove my abilities quickly. I was in the same division as Anthony Davis, the first pick in our class. As a result, in the competition with Davis, I still swept all the Rookie of the Month Awards in my rookie season and became the biggest favorite of the Rookie of the Year, and in the end I also won the Best Rookie honor. People think I'm just lucky, my abilities are overrated, and I even think I'm not worthy of such a draft pick. So I have to prove that I am worthy of being selected in the sixth pick, so I need to take my performance to another level, and I need to tell everyone that I am not worse than anyone else and I have the ability to do what anyone else can do. There was no such voice again after the rookie season. It is worth mentioning that Lillard became the first player in NBA history to win all 6 monthly Rookie Awards in a single season in 2012-13.

In the NBA regular season last season, Lillard played 58 games in 82 games, averaging 36.1 minutes per game, averaging 24.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.2 blocks, and 2.8 turnovers and 1.7 fouls, shooting percentage of 44.8%, three-point shooting percentage of 37.6%, and free throw shooting percentage of 92.1%. In the playoffs, Lillard played 3 games in total, with averaging 24.9 minutes per game, averaging 7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks, and a turnover and 2.7 fouls. His shooting percentage was 22.2%, a three-point shooting percentage of 18.8%, and a free throw shooting percentage of 85.7%.

Lillard joined the Trail Blazers as a senior rookie at that time. In addition, his figure was limited, many people were indeed not optimistic about his development in the NBA. As a result, he quickly became the core figure of the Trail Blazers and led the team to perform many wonderful performances. Lillard's performance in the Bucks was not ideal last season. He was cut by the Bucks on an extended clause this summer. He also returned to the Trail Blazers with a three-year contract with a total amount of $42 million. In the next new season, Lillard was unable to play due to injury. I don’t know if Lillard, who has returned to a healthy state, can perform better and find his form in the 2026-27 season.