Portland Trail Blazers icon Damian Lillard has hit back at critics who say he has not stepped out of his comfort zone in pursuit of an NBA title, pointing to the plight of former MVP Russell Westbrook.
The 32-year-old delivered another reminder of his class with a monster 71-point performance in Sunday's win over the Houston Rockets , putting him joint eighth on the list of most individual points in an NBA game. Lillard has been among the best players in the NBA since the Blazers drafted him in 2012, and 10 years on he signed a max contract worth $225million until the end of the 2026/27 season instead of chasing success elsewhere.
That decision has drawn criticism in some quarters, with Portland not making it out of the first round of the play-offs in any of the past three seasons, and the prospects of glory in Oregon in the years ahead look limited. But he believes there is a value in feeling at home and he highlighted Westbrook's situation, with ill-fated moves seeing him bounce around the league and falling from the MVP status he had when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
