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Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers was one of the most surprising inclusions in the NBA's 75th Anniversary team. Some fans, including basketball analyst and radio host Doug Gottlieb, believe Lillard has not accomplished enough to be a part of it, though.
In the most recent episode of his Fox Sports radio show, Gottlieb pointed out that Lillard has not been better than some of his contemporaries like Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBron James in any season. He also noted that Dame is not better than current players such as Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
"Damian Lillard has gone from guy who needs quality teammates to probably the most overrated player in the history of the NBA. He was in the Top 75 Team. Are you kidding me? It’s kind of laughable," Gottlieb said.
"Lillard is not better than Jokic. He's not better than Giannis, not better than James Harden, but he's like the one guy who receives all these extra adulations because he stays in Portland?" Gottlieb added.
Damian Lillard is a six-time All-Star, one-time All-NBA First Team, four-time All-NBA Second Team, one-time All-NBA Third Team and a former Rookie of the Year winner. Lillard has led the Portland Trail Blazers to the playoffs since 2014, making the Conference Finals once.
However, if Lillard did not deserve to make the NBA 75, who did? There are plenty of snubs in the list, including Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Dikembe Mutombo, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili, Tracy McGrady, Tony Parker, Alex English and Klay Thompson.
Howard and Mutombo are two of the greatest defensive centers ever, with Howard also leading an Orlando Magic team to the NBA Finals. Gasol, Ginobili, Parker and Thompson are multi-time NBA champions, while Carter, McGrady and English are some of the greatest scorers in league history.
Damian Lillard on being included in the NBA 75th Anniversary Team
In an interview with NBA.com, Damian Lillard reacted to the news of him being included in the 75th Anniversary Team. Lillard said he did not expect to be included, but is still thankful for the accolade.
"It's a special honor, probably the best honor of my career so far to be considered one of the 75 best in a 75-year history. That's a hell of an accomplishment, a hell of an honor. And I’m still playing," Lillard said.
Damian Lillard has not played in 2022 since undergoing surgery to repair an injury in his abdomen. Lillard only recently started reconditioning, and could be re-evaluated in two to three weeks, as per the Blazers' injury update.
With Portland likely to miss the playoffs, it makes no sense for Lillard to rush his recovery and play games in April. With the Blazers trading CJ McCollum, Robert Covington and Normal Powell at the trade deadline, they head into the offseason in a possible rebuilding mode.
Jusuf Nurkic is set to enter free agency, while Lillard has been linked with trade rumors since last summer. It's going to be a really interesting offseason for Lillard as well as for the Trail Blazers.
