"Lee" Damian Lillard, TA rated NBA 75 Big 68

On Clara Street in eastern Oakland, the telephone pole that witnessed the birth of the NBA greats still stands there. Damian Lillard promised us that this was definitely the one in the past - after so many years, he could still recognize the curved nails on the side of the shaft.

The nails were knocked in by Lillard's grandfather Albert, and used to secure a plastic milk box as a temporary basket. Albert saw off the bottom of the box and nailed the nail through the plastic into the telephone pole. In order to make the basket more stable, he also deliberately bent the nail through the opening of the box. Lillard guessed that his grandfather said he used at least 10 nails.

"Now when you go there and you can see the dense nails on the pole," Lillard said. "It's still there, all around the pole. Because a box broke, he would nail another one in another place. "

This pole and the milk box basket nailed on it were the second basket that Lillard used when he was a child. Earlier, the oak tree in front of his grandparents' house was his lucky place - the branches grew and bent, and turned into a natural basket shape.

"The branch was bent like a basket," Lillard said. "I used to shoot on the tree. "

But when he was in fifth grade, the city would cut off the tree, and Lillard was so upset.

"So I used the milk box later," he said.

It was on these milk box baskets that two things changed him. First, there were no rebounds, only bare telephone poles, forcing him to practice accurate shooting; second, he had to find ways to make up for his small disadvantage - this is also the reason why Clara Street and those milk boxes mean a lot to him, here, he began to practice long shots for the first time.

"I was short when I was a kid," Lillard said. "So I always shot from far away so that others could not cover me. So when I was a kid, I started to practice shooting from a distance. "

Nearly twenty years have passed, the child who shot in a tree and later practiced against a milk box has become the evergreen All-star of the Portland Trail Blazers, the most terrifying last-quarter killer in the field today, and one of the most accurate long-range pitchers. Since entering the league in 2012, no one has made more last-minute overtakes (35) than him, nor has he made more 30-foot-out threes (138) than him.

This ever-increasing resume has allowed Lillard to 68th among the 75 top stars in NBA history selected by TA. At 31, he is one of the youngest and least experienced players on the roster, but has already promoted the change in the style of playing today.

The road is a long way from Clara Street to the great players in NBA history. But as a kid, Lillard was already firmly attracted by the sport and could no longer let go of it.

He used to be a shortstop for a baseball team. "I play well in baseball, and it's easy to get started. "

On the football field, he played running backs, wide receivers and linebackers, and "The same is true for football, and it's not difficult for me. "

When learning boxing, he is also a good piece of material. "

The skills of dodging and turning are so I can get started. "

But basketball is different. He could understand other sports, but basketball seemed to be talking to him, as if it was born in his body, waiting to be released.

"I have a kind of intuition about basketball," Lillard said. "For example, boxing, rugby, baseball, I know a little, but the feeling about basketball - how to play, what will happen next, what should be done... These intuitions are born. "

This intuition almost made him and the game a close partner. He understands the game, and he also understands him. The longer he gets along, the harder it is to separate.

"This feeling of the game has always been there, so I love it so much," Lillard said.

He likes other sports, but he has a real love for basketball - when he said this, he deliberately emphasized the word "love".

"I never thought about stopping," he said, "I can play games after games at the Erra Kingkins Community Center. I can play games after games. I really love it. I can play all day. My brother Houston and I get up in the summer morning and go to the community center, stay all day, and then go to Brookfield Elementary School and continue playing until someone shouts outside the school fence 'Damian! Houston! It's time to go home! 'I'll leave. '

Lillard has many favorite players - Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Cameron Anthony, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Allen Iverson - but what he admires the most is Iverson.

"I always imitate Iverson because he is small and has that kind of street style," Lillard said. "Everyone in our community likes Iverson, just like a trend, everyone wears his jerseys. "

So he will play on Clara Street alone, imitating Iverson's appearance - cross-dribbling, step back... This is another reason why he loves basketball: he can practice alone. If you want to become stronger, you don’t have to wait for someone to pass the ball or find someone to fight. Just one ball or a little space.

"I always feel that I have a lot to improve," Lillard said. "Shot, left hand, right hand, step back, 360-degree turn...so I'm just practicing outside alone, trying hard to get better. "

This desire to become stronger ultimately changed not only his own game style, but also changed the entire NBA. At the lowest point in his career, Lillard was determined to make a change.

In 2018, the Trail Blazers, as the third in the Western Conference, were swept by the sixth-ranked New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the playoffs. Throughout the series, Lillard was attacked by Ju Holiday and the Pelicans and was defensive, and he didn't even have room for operation, let alone shooting..

That summer, he stayed in the door and repeatedly analyzed his game, vowing to return in a better state and to change his playing style. He remembered the milk bins and telephone poles on Clara Street, and the street ball game with his brother Houston - they played until 100 points before stopping, and there was a very exciting rule: If a car drove through the court and you shot from across the street, you could score 10 points instead of 2 points. These long-distance shots have helped him develop the killer instinct. He shot long shots in high school, and also shot long shots in Weber State in college. It was at the university in Ogden, Utah, that he began training with the then assistant coach Phil Beckner.

"Phil and I practiced shooting over and over again in college," Lillard said.

Later, he persuaded Beckner to quit his job as a college coach and become his personal trainer. After being swept in 2018, the two of them had an idea: If Lillard could move further away, wouldn’t he be able to create space for himself?

"We always say when we practice shooting 'We have to practice this as a weapon '," Lillard said. "I realized after being swept, that I must practice this skill to the extreme and make ultra-long shots a conventional weapon. Since then, I have practiced more targeted. "

This process is not easy. In the 2018-2019 season, when Lillard began to intentionally expand his shooting range, then Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts actually did not fully recognize it.

"Terry would be unhappy when I shoot those very far balls," Lillard said. "He didn't say it, but I could see it. The expression of his face in the sprinting stage, his head raised or his hand raised were all natural reactions that could not be hidden. "

Many people don't know how much effort Lillard has put in for these very long shots. Practice countless emergency stops and jump shots, repeatedly practice sideways to create space, from summer to season, shooting continuously in the morning and evening.

"I believe this," Lillard said, "because it is not difficult for me to shoot very long balls. If I find it difficult, I won't keep shooting. But I really don't think it's difficult. "

In the end, his efforts and results can no longer be hidden. Stotts will stay and see him shoot from near the midfield after training in the morning, and will see him shoot at a position that no one dares to imagine after training.

"After a long time, Terry saw that I had been practicing and the ball was getting more and more, so he didn't say anything," Lillard said.

He finally gained full trust. In the 2019 playoffs, this trust shone with the brightest light - with the memory of being swept in 2018, Lillard used a 50-point performance to send the Trail Blazers into the second round, eliminating the Oklahoma City Thunder. The winning goal was a 37-foot, ultra-long three-pointer, and the whistle shot went in, just like he had practiced countless times.

"After all, I am a person who believes in myself," Lillard said. "Even if things don't happen as expected, I think this is an opportunity - prove that as long as you persist, you will always get better in the end. Some people retreat and want to give up when they fail; but some people really believe, they can't explain why, they just believe. Either believe or not, I am the kind of person who believes. "

Why did the kid who shot at the milk box make the list of the greatest players in NBA history?

"I was quite surprised when I was selected," Lillard said. "This is indeed an amazing achievement. But I am in the prime of my career and I feel that there is still a lot to contribute and there is still room for improvement. This honor is precious and I won't take it seriously - it's a big deal, I'm grateful, but I know there are still many things waiting for me to complete. "

(as of the 2020-21 season)

Career Data:

Games: 682 games, average: 24.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists, shooting percentage: 43.9%, free throw percentage: 89.3%, victory contribution value: 92.3, player efficiency value: 22.4

Honors:

2013 Rookie of the Year, six NBA All-Stars, six NBA "Bubble" MVP (2020 Year), Olympic gold medal (2021), selected as the NBA75 superstar in 2021