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Portland Trail Blazers: A ‘Mamba Mentality’ Challenge to Damian Lillard

By Hassan Ladiwala

Damian Lillard, Kobe Bryant, Mamba Mentality, Portland Trail Blazers. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Damian Lillard, Kobe Bryant, Mamba Mentality, Portland Trail Blazers. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Damian Lillard,
Jrue Holiday, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Damian Lillard Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /

Damian Lillard’s ‘Mamba Mentality’ challenge: Finals MVP in Portland

Damian Lillard’s resume is as impressive as it gets with six all-star appearances and six all-NBA selections to his name. The 12 3-pointers he knocked down in Game 5 against the Denver Nuggets in last season’s playoffs put him in sole possession of the most 3PM in a single playoff game record and was praised by both current and past NBA stars as one of the greatest shooting performances the game has ever seen. Lillard is a baller, there’s no question about it. That being said, fair or otherwise, when we look back on Lillard’s career 20 years from now, his subpar playoff record up until this point in his career will inevitably be used against him in the barbershop/dorm-room/podcast discussions ranking the greatest point guards and players of this generation. The best way to change the narrative? Winning the dang thing. For this reason, the Mamba Mentality Challenge I’m issuing for Dame is to win Finals MVP with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Lillard has gone 22-39 in eight consecutive postseason appearances with the Blazers. It would be ridiculous to suggest that he should bear the brunt of the blame for the team’s shortcomings in the postseason but, as Portland’s best player, the onus is on him to will his team to victory when the chips are stacked against them if they are to realize their goal of winning a championship. While the “Dame should leave Portland” narrative has been heard louder than ever during this off-season, Lillard has spoken on this subject as recently as last season’s All-Star break back in March when the same questions were being asked of his future.

"“I think, for every person that says you know I want to see him on the big stage, and I want to see him go to a bigger market and all these things, of course those things have pros, but nobody ever wants to think about the cons. If you take that step and it’s not what it seems to be, and it doesn’t work out, or an injury happens, and you haven’t established as much of a rapport with that team, and they chose one guy over the next guy and now you’re traded to a third team, things can fall apart. That may never happen, but it’s just a lot of things you can’t control. You got to consider both sides. But for me, it would have to come down to my team saying look, we’re going in a different direction, and we don’t want to hold you hostage, basically, and what route do you want to go.”"

Lillard also said that he is aware of what a championship in Portland would mean for his legacy.

"“For every person that has that [the “Dame should leave Portland” narrative] to say, I’m saying if everybody doesn’t think I can do it in Portland and we can’t win in Portland, what does it mean and what happens when we do? If we actually go and do it, then where does that put me? Where does that put my legacy? Where does that put my career?”"

Over the course of his NBA journey, Lillard has been hit-or-miss in high stakes playoff games. While individual moments like the series winners against the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder are indeed spectacular shots in pressure-packed situations, there have also been some duds along the way—such as the first-round exit to New Orleans in 2018 when Lillard was neutralized by Jrue Holiday, being held to series averages of 18.5 points and 4.8 assists on 30% shooting from three.