Damian Lillard called his brilliant run to the playoffs 7 months ago, according to Trail Blazers rookie
- After a brilliant run to end the regular season and a win in their play-in game against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Portland Trail Blazers defied the odds to qualify for the 2020 NBA playoffs.
- Point guard Damian Lillard posted a series of sensational performances to help his team avoid missing the postseason for the first time since 2013.
- According to Trail Blazers rookie Nassir Little, the star point guard called Portland's historic run seven months prior and vowed that the team would make the playoffs.
Damian Lillard has been the NBA's brightest star since the league returned to play last month.
The Portland Trail Blazers' superstar point guard has averaged 37.6 points per game since arriving in the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida, to complete the 2020 regular season. His four 40+ point performances in a five-game span were good enough to earn Bubble MVP honors — and to help Portland defy the odds and avoid missing the postseason for the first time since 2013.
But perhaps even more impressively, Dame called it all months ago.
According to Portland rookie Nassir Little, Lillard "looked me dead in my face" and promised to lead the Trail Blazers to the playoffs seven months prior to the team locking in their matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round of the 2020 NBA playoffs. At the time, Portland was not within reach of the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
"'What you about to see me do, you ain't never seen in your life,'" Little recalled Lillard telling him.
"If that ain't some legend talk then [I don't know] what is," the 6-foot-5 North Carolina Tar Heel product added on Twitter.
Dame remembered, apparently.
"We here now. Just getting started Rook!" he replied.
Lillard, Little, and the rest of the Trail Blazers roster faces an uphill battle against LeBron James and the top-seeded Lakers. They'll look to begin pulling off the impossible in Game 1 of the series, which tips off Tuesday at 9 p.m. on TNT.
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