Remembering 0.9
The Damien Lillard Era is over in Portland
On May 2, 2014, during Game 6 of the Western Conference first-round series between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets, Damian Lillard hit a buzzer-beating, series-clinching three-pointer to give the Trail Blazers a 99-98 victory. This iconic shot instantly became one of the most memorable moments in NBA playoff history, and Damian Lillard earned a reputation as a clutch performer in critical moments.
The moment is a moment I’ll remember forever, partly because of the shot, partly because I was watching it with my son — 10 years old at the time — in the student lobby of Northwest Nazarene University. The game was over. We knew it; everyone knew it.
Down 2.
0.9 seconds to go.
What were the chances?
Well, that depends. Are you considering the probabilities based on universal norms of basketball? Or are you referring to the probabilities based on the opportunity to give Lillard the ball with time enough to get up a shot?
The two are not the same.
And the rest is history.
I think that might be the moment my son traded in his fondness for Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors for an allegiance to the Portland Trail Blazers…and a love for Damien Lillard.
In the ensuing eight years, we have watched many a game together, have seen other miraculous shots (including the “bad shot” he took against Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2019 playoffs), and games where “Dame Time” was in full effect.
We watch Lillard demonstrate loyalty and dedication to his team and a love for the city of Portland and its fans. We watched his leadership as he took players under his wing and invested time and energy into others. We watched scoring prowess and clutch performances. Lillard’s community involvement and charitable activities were to be admired.
Ultimately, however, Dame was never given a team that could legitimately compete for a championship. This is the one thing he never got, the one thing the fans never got to see.
And so, days before the opening of training camp 2023, Damien Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. Teaming up with Giannis Antetokounmpo and friends, he will have a chance to compete for a championship — a capstone for a brilliant career.
I genuinely wish the opportunity had come for him as a Trail Blazer.
I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.
I will enjoy watching a young and exciting Trail Blazer team this year, but I’ll also have my eyes on the Bucks. If my team can’t win it all this year, I hope Lillard will.
And I’ll be watching with my son, now 18, as we welcome a new era of Trail Blazer basketball.
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