We’ve seen so many legendary players retire without a ring. Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson are just two of the first that come to mind, but NBA history has seen so many great hoopers go away ringless.
That’s why fans sometimes would rather watch superstars teaming up than wasting their primes on teams that can’t compete at the highest level. But not all players feel that way or would rather win the ‘easy’ way.
Damian Lillard is that kind of player. He’s constantly affirmed his committment to the Portland Trail Blazers, and recently confirmed that he has no intention whatsoever of playing for another franchise in the future.
NBA News: Damian Lillard Says He Plans To Retire With The Blazers
“Yes, I do (plan on being a Blazer for life),” Lillard said, per NBA.com. “I’ve had my share of people saying ‘Man, you got to get out of there! You’ve got to do this, you’ve got do to that.’ But I’m the type of person that I’m never going to be marching to the beat of nobody else’s drum.“
“I’m gonna always do what I feel like is in my best interest and that I really feel in my heart. I’ve said this on many different occasions, they call it ‘He’s being loyal!’ and ‘Loyalty this, loyalty that’ and I’m like, I’m naturally a loyal person but I do have a level of loyalty to the organization, but this loyalty that they’re talking about is ultimately to who I am as a person,” Lillard added.“I’m being loyal to who I am and not getting beside myself because I’m somebody that, I believe what I believe.”
“I think I can get it done,” Lillard added. “Now, everybody else might say ‘There’s no way the Blazers will ever win. They need to do this, they need to do that.’ But that’s just not how I feel about the situation. I feel like we’ll have a chance to win, I feel like that moment is going to come, I feel like that opportunity is going to come. And that’s that.”
That’s a leader right there, and it’s not like he’s having a bad time making all that money and becoming a city legend in Portland, anyway. Hopefully, he’ll have the chance to lead them to the NBA Finals before the end of his prime.
