Damian Lillard turned down LeBron James and the Lakers

If Damian Lillard were to demand a trade out of the Portland Trail Blazers, multiple NBA teams would be lining up right outside of his house. He’s one of the best players in the world and a guy that could take a contender to a whole new level.

Lillard has often stated his desire to win at Rip City. He’s even said that his loyalty could be his biggest flaw, but he’d rather never win a ring instead of teaming up with another superstar to get the job done.

But, as he recently confessed, it seems like he actually considered making a move last summer. Apparently, he got together with LeBron James and he kind of made a recruiting pitch for him.

Damian Lillard Admits He Met With LeBron During The Offseason

“’Bron asked what I was thinking with my situation, and I told him what I’m telling you: that I just want to be in a position to win it all,” Lillard told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “He painted the picture to me that if I were to leave, the situation could look like this. He didn’t tell me to come to L.A., and he didn’t say anything to me that I didn’t already know other than what it could look like. I told him, ‘I know if I were to play with y’all, I know it would work out because of my skill set,’ and who I am and who they are.”

Lillard Turned Down LeBron And The Lakers

Lillard then said that the media is often creating false narratives about him because they just don’t understand that he wants to win in a certain way. It’s not about taking the money and not competing but about leading an underdog all the way:

“I think the media is so strong now that a lot of top players have become influenced by the media,” Lillard added. “And for me, I think some media people have an issue with me or they view my stance as coming off a certain way. I don’t tune out what they say, but I just do what I want to do. And I think people look at it like, ‘Ah, he’s just taking the money. He doesn’t want to win.’ The media is so accustomed to rocking the boat and making people move how they want to move, and that’s not going to happen with me.”

“I’m sure it would be great to play with LeBron and AD and play in a big market, but as attractive as it sounded and as fun as that might be, I don’t feel in my heart that that’s who I am or where I belong. And one thing I want to emphasize is that this decision wasn’t made out of comfort. I’m not afraid to be out of my comfort zone because I’m going to live here when I’m done playing regardless. I made my decision based on what I actually want to do,” he added.

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Damian Lillard suggests Giannis' ring with Bucks made him reconsider future in Portland

Dame Wants To Win In Portland

The Weber State product also said that watching Giannis Antetokounmpo lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a ring was special for him because it made him feel like winning with a small-market team was possible:

“If I was to get that championship for Portland, I would cry, bruh. Bruh, on the spot. I would really cry, bro. I want to win a championship here. And because of how strongly I feel about that, I don’t know how rewarding it would feel for me at this point if I won somewhere else. Winning it here would be a lifetime achievement for me,” the talented guard said.

At the end of the day, we would all love to watch Lillard win an NBA championship. But you have to give him mad props for turning down an easy path to a ring and trying to do his own thing.