Like Draymond Green and Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard has agreed to participate in the Tokyo Olympics with the American selection. It will be a first for him since he has never worn this jersey in an international competition.
Why this year more than another then? For the coach in particular.
“Whether Gregg Popovich is the coach as the national team, it played an important role in my decision to hire”, explains the Portland All-Star to the AP. “I have immense respect for Popovich, as a coach and as a man. I can’t wait to play for him, to learn from him. “
It remains to know the players who will fill this squad, in addition to Draymond Green and Jayson Tatum. The rather special circumstances with the NBA season and the injuries have already pushed LeBron James, Anthony Davis or Jimmy Butler to ignore it. But there is still enough to build a very competitive group.
“I hope that we will be able to set up a united team with great players. I don’t necessarily want other people to be like, ‘If Lady is playing, then I should be there too’, but I hope they see some big guys coming in and see it as an opportunity to be a part of. a unique thing. “
As was the case in 2008 with the “Redeem Team” of Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony or even LeBron James, Olympic champion in Beijing after the failures of the international competitions of 2002, 2004 and 2006. A reference and a turning point for Damian Lillard.
“I remember seeing them play and it looked so nice”, he recalls. “So many stars in a team, able to play together and have fun. They looked so liberated from their usual responsibilities on their NBA team. It was from there that I became very interested in the selection. It is important for me to add that to this experience, and to represent my family and my country on a major stage that I did not participate in. “
| Damian Lillard | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Tirs | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2012-13 | FOR | 82 | 39 | 42.9 | 36.8 | 84.4 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 6.5 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 19.1 |
| 2013-14 | FOR | 82 | 36 | 42.4 | 39.4 | 87.1 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 20.7 |
| 2014-15 | FOR | 82 | 36 | 43.4 | 34.3 | 86.4 | 0.6 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 6.2 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 21.0 |
| 2015-16 | FOR | 75 | 36 | 41.9 | 37.5 | 89.2 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 6.8 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 25.1 |
| 2016-17 | FOR | 75 | 36 | 44.4 | 37.0 | 89.5 | 0.6 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 27.0 |
| 2017-18 | FOR | 73 | 37 | 43.9 | 36.1 | 91.6 | 0.9 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 6.6 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 26.9 |
| 2018-19 | FOR | 80 | 36 | 44.4 | 36.9 | 91.2 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 6.9 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 25.8 |
| 2019-20 | FOR | 66 | 38 | 46.3 | 40.1 | 88.8 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 8.0 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 30.0 |
| 2020-21 | FOR | 67 | 36 | 45.1 | 39.1 | 92.8 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 7.5 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 28.8 |
| Total | 682 | 36 | 43.9 | 37.5 | 89.3 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 6.6 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 24.7 | |
