The Western Conference All-Star reserves were announced this week and Damian Lillard was not featured on that list. It was almost certain Lillard would be replacing the spot of injured Kobe Bryant, but once again Lillard and the rest of the NBA world was surprised when DeMarcus Cousins got the nod to take the roll.
Today Lillard took out his frustrations on Twitter.
” Game recognize game … Y’all don’t look familiar ”
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) January 30, 2015
” I rip a page out my notebook in anger and let these thoughts linger ”
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) January 28, 2015
In a season where Lillard is putting up an MVP caliber performances and is clearly a top point guard in the NBA, Lillard had this to say:
“I just felt disrespected because I play the game the right way. I play unselfishly. I play for my team to win games and I produce at a high level. I think what I bring to the game as a person, my makeup mentally, how I am towards my teammates, how I am towards the media, how I am towards fans, I think what an All-Star represents in this league and what you would want people to look at as an All-Star, I think I make up all those things.”
And just after commissioner Silver announced DeMarcus Cousins would replace the injured Kobe, Lillard took to social media to tell everyone how he really feels:
I just want to thank the coaches who feel I wasn’t good enough, the fans that didn’t think I was good enough, and Adam Silver also for not thinking I was good enough. This isn’t unfamiliar territory for me , it’s actually what my life has been inspired by. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed or that I don’t feel disrespected, but it’s not too much to handle. Not the first or last guy to be snubbed. “You should have been there” isn’t good enough for me. But anyway, The reason I’m in these shoes is because I’ve always use the hand I was dealt to my advantage… A wise man once told me… ” it ain’t always gone be peaches and cream but somebody has to pay for the reason it’s not … One way or another ” … #ImThankful #Real#NonAllStar #RipCity #YellowTape
The last hope for Lillard is that his teammate Lamarcus Aldridge, who is playing with a torn ligament in his thumb, sits out the All Star game. Until the NBA changes their system of selecting players for the All Star game, players like Damian Lillard will continue to be disrespected.
