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Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard believes LeBron James is the MVP

By Gabe Alada

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 14: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers handles the ball against LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers on November 14, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 14: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers handles the ball against LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers on November 14, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Damian Lillard is an All-NBA player with multiple All-Star appearances, but the Portland Trail Blazers guard hasn’t been able to win the MVP award yet.

Even without winning an MVP, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard is still very highly respected by his peers and seen as one of the best guards in the NBA. Even without an MVP, when Lillard has something to say, people listen.

Recently, Lillard appeared on the Jalen & Jacoby show with an opinion on who he thinks should win MVP of the 2019 season.

"“This season, I think it’s Lebron.” Lillard said. “They’re the number one team in the west. They’ve been consistent all year long and for him to be at the age he’s at with the amount of miles that he has on his body and how often he’s talked about and the pressure they put on him and every little thing he does…in my opinion he’s is the MVP.”"

There has been mutual respect from Lebron and Lillard dating back to even 2018. In an interview where a reporter asked the then Cleveland star to comment on Lillard’s play of late, Lebron praised Lillard, even calling him a ‘superstar in our league’.

LeBron James is coming off of a fantastic year, joining forces with Anthony Davis and leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a best in the west record of 49-14. Lillard has obviously seen the continued greatness of Lebron and appreciates how dominant he still is at 35 years old. At 29 years old himself, Lillard is probably watching Lebron and taking notes on how he could continue to grow his game with age and still be just as dominant as he is now.

Before games stopped due to COVID-19, the Blazers were chasing the eight seed in hopes of making it to the playoffs. If they were to make it, they would have had to face Lebron and the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.

dark. Next. Should more bubble teams follow the Damian Lillard route in sitting out?

With hopes of NBA play resuming in upcoming months, that series is still a reality, but with rumours of changing the format of the playoffs to make up for the lost time, we still don’t know what’s going to happen.

One could only imagine a playoff series with Lillard squaring up against Lebron and all the excitement it would bring, but until then we can only wait and see. Even with all the uncertainty, one thing that we know for certain though is that there is a mutual respect between the two stars.