Damian Lillard: Haters 'Better Pray' I Don't Win NBA Title with Blazers

Damian Lillard is no stranger to the NBA's championship-or-nothing narrative that always seems to follow the league's biggest stars.

Lillard, 32, feels like he hasn't gotten the proper respect during his illustrious career, mainly because he hasn't won a championship with Portland.

A seven-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA selection and member of the NBA's 75th anniversary team, Lillard has accomplished a lot during his 10-plus seasons as a pro. And while talking to former teammate Evan Turner of the Point Forward podcast, he expressed his frustrations with not getting credit for all he's done with the Trail Blazers.

For the majority of his career, Lillard has had to contend with a loaded Western Conference that featured some of the best teams in recent memory, namely the Golden State Warriors dynasty.

And yet, he still led Portland to its first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2000, where the Trail Blazers fell to the Warriors in a four-game sweep in 2019.

Lillard is averaging 31.4 points per game in 2022, fourth-best in the league, to go along with 7.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds. The Blazers, meanwhile, are 12th in the Western Conference at 28-31 and lost their first game coming out of the All-Star break to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.