Damian Lillard Defends His Misconstrued Comments on Stephen Curry That Led to 62 Points in 2021

On January 4, 2021, the NBA world witnessed Stephen Curry scoring a career-high 62 points in a 137-122 home win against the Portland Trail Blazers. According to popular belief, Damian Lillard’s comments before the game fueled this historic performance. However, the reality was much different.

In a 2021 interview with NBC Sports, Lillard spoke about Curry being double and triple-teamed by the opposition at the time. The 34-year-old discussed how injuries to the Warriors’ star players and veterans weakened their starting five. This gave opponents the confidence to make this defensive move and single out the 10x All-Star in most games. He said,

“Right now, with the injuries that the Warriors have been dealing with, with Steph playing with a younger team right now, he is seeing that it’s tough to get those quality looks right now. It is different than what it has looked like in the past four, five years for him.”

Dame Lillard on Steph Curry; “He’s seeing that it’s tough to get those quality looks right now… It’s different than what it’s looked like the last 4-5 years.”
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This interview occurred just days before Lillard and Steph’s next matchup at Chase Center. This allowed media outlets and fans to spin Dame’s comments in a negative way during the game’s buildup. They created a narrative that made it seem like the Portland star was taking a jab at his peer.

Lillard addressed this unexpected turn of events during his appearance on the Get Got Pod. Dame also clarified that he would never make such disrespectful comments about Curry out of respect for him. He said,

“I was like, ‘Over the years, Steph played with a lot of vets. They knew how to get him the ball’… I said, ‘But now, he is seeing something different, ’cause it’s different now.'”

“They took it and spun it like I was saying like, ‘Yeah, now he gonna see if he can still do it type.’ You know I f**k with Steph. So, I never say no backhanded weird s**t about Steph… ’cause I respect him.”

However, no one was interested in getting to the bottom of the truth back then. The false narrative spread like wildfire. After Curry heard about it, he responded like a true competitor.

The 4x champion shot 18-31 from the field and hit 50% from beyond the arc that fateful night. His performance also helped the Warriors outscore the Trail Blazers at every quarter.

Although Lillard had to endure a tough night through no fault of his own, it eventually strengthened his bond with Curry. The Warriors talisman’s reaction to this situation left a lasting impact on him. He reflected on this experience, saying,

“Steph, he the type like he is not gonna announce like, ‘I heard what you said’ or ‘You said this, you said that’. He is a true competitor…He come out and he is just hitting three after three after three.”

Dame even showcased this admiration for Curry following the game. After a brief clip of their post-game conversation went viral online, he declared on X, “You can’t dish it out and not be able take it #Respect”.

You can’t dish it out and not be able take it ‍♂️ #Respect https://t.co/2ydpT0JVHy

— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) January 4, 2021

Lillard has clarified this situation multiple times and seems prepared to keep doing so for years to come. After all, he is unwilling to let his relationship with Curry be ruined based on misunderstandings.