Damian Lillard Discusses Motivation Behind Becoming A News Source

Trail BlazersguardDamian Lillardmade waves this offseason by delivering breaking news regarding reporters changing positions. Ripped straight from Adrian Wojnarowski’s playbook, Portland’s front man captured the attention of everyone when he flipped the script on the media by becoming a source.

In a recent interview withThe Athletic’s Sam Amick(formerly of USA TODAY Sports),Lillarddiscussed the fun-but-clear motivation behind his new hobby. According to the Oakland native, he uses his status as a source to expose reporters to the vulnerabilities that athletes feel in the media.

Our situation is just not considered a lot of times. So that was kind of what it was, just to put people on their toes, because I started getting a lot of messages from people (about media moves). I told people that I knew stuff, like ‘Yeah, I know this.’ It’s just to see how they would feel about it. A few people tried to fight it, like ‘Oh nah, I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ and I was like, ‘No, I know already.’ I’m just basically showing you how it feels to be vulnerable, I guess, or to be at somebody else’s mercy about something that you might not want out.

Lillardwent on to share his opinions on the state of NBA media coverage,CJ McCollum’s background in journalism, and his drive to keep bettering himself as a basketball player.

You can read Amick’s full story by visitingThe Athletic(subscription required).