I’ve come to the point where I stop rolling my eyes when professional athletes make comments that appear to be lacking realism or cocky, simple because, this has to be their mindset if they are to be successful.
Portland Trailblazers rookie point guard Damian Lillard, has been as good as advertised, probably better. He leads all first-year players points per game (19.0) and assists (6.5) and is probably the run-away favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award. The Blazers won’t make the playoffs this season but their future is bright and according to Dime Magazine, Lillard told CSNNW.co that he believes his is too.
“I think I can be a first team All-NBA, I think I can be an All-Star, I think I can be an MVP,” Lillard told CSNNW.com. “That’s just my opinion. I don’t know when, but how I plan to work and how much better I want to be, I feel like anything is possible.”
The Blazers rookie doesn’t expect those accolades to come easily, he has every intention of working hard to attain them.
“I’m not saying I deserve those things right now. That’s not what I’m saying. What I am saying is that I set high standards for myself,” he said. “I’m not going to come out and try to force myself to be an MVP next season, I’m going to be myself and hopefully all the hard work that I put in will get me to that point.
“I can get a lot better.”
I wouldn’t put it past Lillard to achieve those goals, his first season has been a pleasant revelation to the Blazers and fans of the NBA. He’s going to have to play at an extremely high level to beat out players like Lebron James and Kevin Durant for MVP, but this is sports, anything can happen.