Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard says NBA return is a risk he will take

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard recently spoke on the NBA’s return. Though he thinks it’s risky, he said it’s a risk he is willing to take.

Speaking with Mike Greenberg on Sports Center alongside NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Portland Trail Blazers guard and leader Damian Lillard said he didn’t feel 100 percent comfortable with the NBA’s return.

Lillard first said that he thought with the COVID-19 pandemic, that it would be great to have basketball back as it would help restore some normalcy to people’s lives. But he also sympathised with a lot of other athletes who were torn in not wanting to play amid the backdrop of social injustice and police brutality in the United States.

Lillard said he saw the point of view of these players but he also said that the players are the financial support for their families and a lot of the black people living in his community.

Lillard also said that basketball is his job, while providing for his community by playing the game he loves. Even if he didn’t feel 100 percent safe in the proposed NBA Orlando bubble.

When asked to reflect on what basketball would mean to him when he got back on the court, Lillard talked about how he protested and how he hoped the protests would help incite change in his community, but also how he will be thinking about his community when he is on the court. He went on to say it’s hard to be 100 percent right on the court when you aren’t with it personally because of what is going on, off the court.

Silver said that the NBA’s return would require a massive sacrifice. He said it was a tough situation with massive social unrest and unemployment. But Silver did make it clear that he emphasised with the players and that it wasn’t for everyone, and that players won’t be punished for not playing.

Silver talked about the testing and the precautions that were being taken, but he didn’t sugarcoat the bubble or the return at all.

The full interview with Lillard can be found here.

Lillard obviously feels conflicted in terms of coming back with everything going on in the USA, but like LeBron James and some of the other star players, he feels like he can do more good by being on the court and playing.

Lillard is a great leader and an excellent example for his community. Let’s hope that he can lead a full Trail Blazers team in a safe bubble in Orlando.