It's the kind of question that normally takes a moment to consider: When was the first time someone underestimated you?
But the answer comes quickly for Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard. "I was eight years old," he said without hesitation, as if it had happened yesterday. "It wasn't basketball. I was a 'six-plays player' in peewee football. Everybody has to play at least six plays—and that's all I played."
When he quit after one season, Houston Lillard Jr., his older brother by almost four years and a future pro indoor football quarterback, taunted him. "You're scared," he said.
Everybody has been told that at some point. Some will admit to it. Others will ignore it. Lillard? He concedes he was scared. He wasn't built as stocky as his 6'0", 215-pound brother, or their father, Houston Sr., who early on were men among boys, physically. Getting hit hurt.
The fear of being another kid who couldn't make it out of Oakland—a place where Lillard a few years later would be robbed at gunpoint at a bus stop—outweighed the fear of physical pain. Once you accept someone's estimation t ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Ric Bucher
Left by Teammates, Overlooked by Fans, Damian Lillard Finds Anger Is an Energy
May 6th, 2016 by Ric Bucher Leave a reply »
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