Before joining Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, Lillard spent the first 11 seasons of his career with Portland Trail Blazers, which means at least three meetings with his hometown team in the Bay Area. While Lillard’s homecomings are typically special, he explained on “Get Got Pod with Marshawn Lynch & Mike Robinson” how a visit to San Francisco was one to forget.
“About three years ago, it was after the Warriors had a lot of injuries, and this was after they had won their first two championships and were struggling,” Lillard explained. “Teams were doubling and tripling Steph. We beat them in San Francisco the first time. We did the same thing as the other teams [stavano facendo] to Steph, we were double marking, switching. AND [i media] they were like, ‘Damn, teams are giving Steph a lot of attention. They’re fouling him. They’re physical with him.”
“And I said, ‘Yes, I know how you feel because when my team was top of the table, we were struggling and they didn’t respect who I was on the pitch with at the time.’ And I thought, over the years, Steph played with a lot of veterans, they knew how to get him the ball, they knew how to get him open, they knew how to play. I said, but now I see something different [con le riserve in campo]” However, whether Curry knew it or not, Lillard responded the only way he knows how.
“And they took my words and twisted it as if I were saying, ‘Now he’ll see if he can still do it [di segnare tanti punti]’. But really, me with Steph. I would never say bad things about Steph. I wouldn’t do it for anyone, but definitely not for him because I respect him. So, we go back to play again two days later and Steph comes out and shoots every time. Obviously, he’s a competitor. I’m a competitor. He’s pulling, two, three, four times in a row. And Steph is the type who’s not going to tell you in your ear, ‘I heard what you said’ or ‘You said this, you said that,’ he punishes you with action – he’s a real competitor.
“So he goes out and hits 3 after 3 after 3. And my first thought is I don’t care. I didn’t mean it that way and I don’t care if you’re trying to make a declaration of war because you thought I meant it that way. That’s what is. He ended up SCORING 62 POINTS. He was running around celebrating. So after the game, I shake his hand and we leave. [lui] he just kicked my ass.’ My comments had never impressed anyone, but I definitely succeeded that day.” And Dame probably learned to choose his words more carefully.
