“No, We’re Not Going For Victor Wembanyama”: Damian Lillard’s Emphatic Denial Of Tanking Rumors

All Damian Lillard has wanted since entering the NBA back in 2012 was to win a championship. Not just any championship however. He wants to win it all in the city that drafted him with the team that believed in him: the Portland Trailblazers. 

Lillard has made it clear over the course of several years that he does not want to leave Portland. He finds his lifestyle in the city to be quite comforting as the team has treated him and his family well along with the fact that Adidas headquarters are also situated in Portland. 

Dame’s brand is based off his loyalty to the Blazers and while this hasn’t gotten him a ring as of yet, it has garnered widespread praise. While there are some who scoff at his undying loyalty to a franchise that refuses to surround him with talent that could help him compete for a title, he continues to try to work with what he has.

Also read: “Give My Trophy Back Dame!”: Damian Lillard Gets Heckled By Buddy Hield Following 3-Point Contest Loss

Damian Lillard on tanking the rest of the season 

Everybody in the NBA is aware of the impending ‘doom’ that is the entry of Victor Wembanyama into the league during this 2023 Draft. With the draft odds having changed recently, the team with the worst record doesn’t have the highest chance to snag the number one overall pick but the bottom three teams have the same exact chance, which is 14%. 

The Portland Trailblazers are currently fighting for a Playoff/play-in spot in a now loaded Western Conference. After last night’s loss against the Sacramento Kings, they stand at 28-30 and are currently 2 games back from the Dallas Mavericks, who hold the 6th seed. 

Their game against the Kings however, saw both Damian Lillard and Jerami Grant be rested, along with several other key players miss the games due to injury management. This led to people assuming that the Blazers were looking to lose this game and were in fact, tanking for Wemby. 

Damian Lillard caught wind of this and took to Twitter to simply say, “No way,” when the prospect of losing games intentionally came up. With him having been injured last season, the Blazers did manage to pick up Shaedon Sharpe in the 2022 NBA Draft with the 7th overall pick but this season, the Blazers look to make a run.

No way https://t.co/Bd21JnGV9w

— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) February 24, 2023

With just how loaded the Western Conference is however, it’ll be interesting to see how far they make it in the Playoffs, if they were to even make the Playoffs.

Also read: “Motherf**kers Don’t Bounce To Your Drum”: Damian Lillard Fed Up With ‘Loyalty’ Memes