Damian Lillard
The Operator
Execution, delivery and performance, gets the hard thing done.
Damian Lillard qualifies as The Operator through sheer process discipline. From the Bubble to his trade to Milwaukee, he measured every decision against preparation and execution rather than circumstance. He groomed Anfernee Simons the same way he built his rap career, step by step, earning credibility before demanding it. Training alone through COVID, keeping music secondary to basketball, staying silent through trade rumors, Lillard controls what he can control and executes everything else.
“I prepared for it, so I wasn't gonna leave what I was leaving behind and the kind of time I was having to just go out here and bullshit. Once we got there, it was like, we're gonna put our best foot forward.”
“I didn't put no music out until I was a two time All Star already. I was all NBA already — I came in and established myself first.”
“I would always come to the sideline and ask, did you see how they was guarding me? You see how I hit the pocket? I would show him clips on the plane. He was almost like being groomed the whole time.”
Knuckleheads with Quentin Richardson & Darius Miles: “Damian Lillard”
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