Damian Lillard has personally witnessed the dominance of the Golden State Warriors dynasty from 2014 to 2020 and has shared his insights on how it was playing them in the Oracle Arena.
On Jeff Teague’s Club 520 podcast, Lillard reflected on the playoff battles he and the Blazers had with Stephen Curry and the Warriors.
“Golden State is just tough because they played them in the playoffs,” Lillard said. “We played them my fourth year in the second round. We were up double digits in every game. We lost 4-1, but we could have beat them 4-1,” Damian Lillard said (h/t Farbod Esnaashari of Sports Illustrated).
Lillard explained exactly how it was to be facing Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who rose to fame as the best shooting duo ever to appear on the same NBA team.
“We’d be up nine, and there would be five minutes left in the third quarter. We go into the fourth quarter down eight. It happens fast,” Lillard said. “They hit one, three; you hear the crowd; you see everybody stand up.
Somebody is taking the ball up, and you’re just looking around and saying, “Damn, it feels like we’re down 20.’ They come back, hit another one; that’s the only crowd I’ve played against at Oracle, where we could be winning, and it felt like the game was slipping away.
That’s how crazy it was in there. Steph hit a three, Klay hit a three, timeout. That walk back to the bench was like, ‘Damn.'” Damian Lillard concluded.
Curry holds a 12-1 record against Damian Lillard in the postseason. The Blazers weren’t able to get over the hump. Lillard first faced the Warriors in the postseason in the second round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs. The Warriors went on to win that series 4-1.
Damian Lillard hopes to find success in Milwaukee this season
Damian Lillard is heading into his second season with the Milwaukee Bucks, hoping to help the team realize its championship potential. Injuries hampered the Bucks during the past season.
But now, both Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo are entering the 2024–25 campaign fully healthy, while Khris Middleton underwent two foot surgeries, and he will be ready to play at the start of the new season.
The Bucks finished third in the Eastern Conference but got ousted by the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the 2024 NBA playoffs. Lillard averaged 24.3 points, 7.0 assists, and 4.4 rebounds through 73 regular-season games with the Milwaukee Bucks.
