Milwaukee Bucks superstar Damian Lillard has achieved so much throughout his decorated career. In fact, his stellar resume is one of the reasons why the Bucks gave up so much in order to acquire his services this past summer.
One of Dame’s biggest achievements, however, has got to be the fact that he was included in the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team — an honor that has been given to 75 of the most influential players in the history of the game.
Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard Gets Honest on NBA Top 75 Honor
In a recent interview on the Knuckleheads podcast with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles, Lillard shed some light on his inclusion in this prestigious club. Dame admitted that not only was he taken aback by the fact that he was named as part of the historic Top 75 but also, he could not help but feel a little bit down about it:
“I literally didn’t know this was like an actual thing, an actual accomplishment,” Lillard said (h/t Rishabh Bhatnagar of The Sports Rush)” … Once I look, I am like, I start feeling bad coz I am like, people who I grew up looking up to that didn’t make it … But I think that make it even more of a special accomplishment.”
Some of the big names that immediately come to mind when talking about the most significant snubs of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team include Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, Tony Parker, Bernard King, Chris Bosh, and Tracy McGrady, to name a few.
For his part, though, Lillard isn’t turning down the honor. In fact, he considers it as vindication for all the criticism he’s been subjected to throughout his career:
“That’s why I always felt slighted,” he said. “…You all said you gotta win. I am producing every year, I am getting trapped, I am getting double-teamed, I am facing everything, I am still 27. We winning games, I am out front, I am not here in the West.”
“So, just to make that 75th-anniversary team, I was surprised by it, coz if it was going to be a real thing, I didn’t think I would make it.”
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