Damian Lillard is chaining together summer camps since after making a stop in Beaverton, a suburb of Portland, the Milwaukee point guard was passing through Phoenix, where he is holding a camp for boarders from surrounding high schools and universities, bringing together 32 players who are aiming for the highest level. This time, he took the opportunity to discuss Team USA's brilliant run at the 2024 Paris Games and the role played by Devin Booker. He is a player he has admired for a long time and they won Olympic gold together in Tokyo in 2021.
The leader first highlighted the determination and character of this team that set out to conquer the world with the Avengers of his generation, embodied by the trio Curry-James-Durant.
“This year, it was the character of Team USA that really showed. When you see the veterans, when you see Stephen Curry, LeBron James, KD Durant, even Book, who’s been in the league for 10 years now. When you see guys like that when they’re in the thick of it, that’s who we’ve been playing for the last 10, 15 years. And they’ve held up. When you look at the direction the game is going, those guys probably won’t be around for the next Olympics, and it’s going to be up to the younger generation of players to pick up the slack.”, he declared.
A remarkable state of mind
Running an ultra-competitive 12-man roster is no easy feat, but Steve Kerr and his staff have managed to pull off their mission. A symbol of this success can be seen in the interesting campaign of Devin Booker, who put his superstar ego aside and focused on doing his best to help the team. Considered the “shadow MVP” by Kerr, the Suns guard put up a stat sheet worthy of his rank, with 11.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists, all while shooting 56.8% from the field and 54.5% from 3-point range. Before Stephen Curry’s hot streak, Devin Booker had held the fort in the first half.
Damian Lillard appreciated his state of mind and did not hesitate to show his admiration in front of the media.
“Not everyone can be a star. Not everyone can have the ball. Not everyone can score points. Someone has to be willing to step up and contribute to the end goal.”he added. “Watching the games, I found it was obvious that he had that mentality. ‘I’m going to get guys, I’m going to take care of the ball, I’m going to get my open shots, I’m going to fight for the team.’ It takes a unique person to take on that role when there are so many voices coming from the outside and people talking about how important every little thing is. And that’s clearly what he did.”
An experience to repeat with the Suns
This experience could be beneficial for Devin Booker, who has been playing for a year with Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant in Phoenix in a similar context, where he will have to know how to share the ball. After the generally disappointing first season of this “Big Three”, Phoenix will have a new opportunity to show its cohesion, and Devin Booker's contribution will of course be expected on this point.
In any case, it is a nice mark of respect from Damian Lillard. One more for the leader who had already contributed to Devin Booker being able to experience his first All-Star Game in 2020 by pushing for his candidacy after having to forfeit. A nice “decisive pass” that also reveals the unifying character of a Damian Lillard, as recalled by his long-time personal coach, Phil Beckner, director of the “Formula Zero Elite Camp”.
“Dame is unique as a professional because he admires what others do and appreciates what others do, even if it is not his own success.”Phil Beckner said. “When he's praising Devin Booker in front of you, he's doing the same thing with these kids and encouraging them by saying, 'Hey, I'm not the only one you need to follow. There's a lot of people who are doing things the right way that you can look up to.'”
| Damian Lillard | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2012-13 | POR | 82 | 39 | 42.9 | 36.8 | 84.4 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 6.5 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 0.2 | 19.1 |
| 2013-14 | POR | 82 | 36 | 42.4 | 39.4 | 87.1 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 20.7 |
| 2014-15 | POR | 82 | 36 | 43.4 | 34.3 | 86.4 | 0.6 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 6.2 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 21.0 |
| 2015-16 | POR | 75 | 36 | 41.9 | 37.5 | 89.2 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 6.8 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 25.1 |
| 2016-17 | POR | 75 | 36 | 44.4 | 37.0 | 89.5 | 0.6 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 27.0 |
| 2017-18 | POR | 73 | 37 | 43.9 | 36.1 | 91.6 | 0.9 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 6.6 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 26.9 |
| 2018-19 | POR | 80 | 36 | 44.4 | 36.9 | 91.2 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 6.9 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 25.8 |
| 2019-20 | POR | 66 | 38 | 46.3 | 40.1 | 88.8 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 8.0 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 30.0 |
| 2020-21 | POR | 67 | 36 | 45.1 | 39.1 | 92.8 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 7.5 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 28.8 |
| 2021-22 | POR | 29 | 36 | 40.2 | 32.4 | 87.8 | 0.5 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 24.0 |
| 2022-23 | POR | 58 | 36 | 46.3 | 37.1 | 91.4 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 7.3 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 32.2 |
| 2023-24 | MIL | 73 | 35 | 42.4 | 35.4 | 92.0 | 0.5 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 7.0 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 24.3 |
| Total | 842 | 36 | 43.8 | 37.1 | 89.7 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 6.7 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 25.1 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
