Damian Lillard does not seem to be the type of man to keep sad.
The Trail-Blazers star has no problem beating back-haters on social media, and he’s on his fair share of junk talk with his NBA team-mates. But he has a mature presence about it – like he doesn’t take too much notice.
One of the more recorded beef Lillard has been involved in is when he hit a 37-foot three-pointer, a right-handed three-point sidetep in Paul George’s grill to send Thunder Oklahoma City home in the first round of the 2019 playoffs. After winning the game, George thought the three depths were a “bad picture,” and Lillard responded on Twitter with “Lol. ”
A year later, during the NBA bubble, George and his team arrested Lillard after a free throw. The attraction continued on social media after that:
Lillard and George just didn’t seem to like each other. But quickly advanced to last Sunday, after the two played together on Team LeBron in the NBA All-Star game (in which Lillard hit multiple three-foot 40-foot hits, including a winner game), George apologized in his postgame interview.
“Well I believe I was criticized for the right reason for shooting Dame’s picture in the playoffs,” George said cuckooly. “I mean I see this guy’s range is fake … It’s a good picture. 2 thumbs. “
George seemed ready to let the cow die. And when Lillard was asked by a fan on Twitter what he thought of this mea culpa, he was willing to throw in the towel as well.
“We shook hands,” said Lillard. “As a man I don’t hold on to things that are so tight when it’s not so deep. Life is short. ”
Retired players seem to consistently complain that players in today’s league are too ‘buddy-buddy’ and that competitions are dead. But maybe it’s just that players today are mature, and they realize that some things are bigger than basketball.
If the playoffs started today, the Clippers and Blazers would go off in the first round. The George-Lillard clash would have been an interesting subplot going into that matchup, but fans will have to settle for Lillard’s meat with Patrick Beverley in his place (Beverley seems to have a history with everyone ). But who knows – Lillard may have forgiven him and forgotten about that too.
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