Damian Lillard and the value of emotion

How do we measure the value of emotion? Not the emotion of a single player, but the emotion a single player can elicit during the course of a game. In our current hoops coverage landscape, so much of the attention is given to empirical data to separate the bad from the good, and the good from the great (with reason, I should add). The numbers, however, often remove a layers of humanity efficiency models can’t calculate. Earned emotion – a phrase made up during a re-write of this very piece – has very little place in the discussion on how we attribute worth to today’s ball players, emphasis on the stars.

Damian Lillard, for all intents and purposes, is neither under or over rated – he simply dwells as he is in the ethereal empyrean of the NBA’s elite. He is, however, under-loved, a distinction made clear by missing this year’s All-Star game. His lack of love from fans around the league isn’t due to a lack of brand building. He’s featured in multiple television spots for State Farm and has one of the best-looking signature shoes in the NBA. But, with the normalization of athletes using social media as a means to help foster a personal brand, self-awareness among individuals is likely at an all-time high. Lillard, however, has been forced to become hyper aware of not just himself, but of those around him. As he tries to carve out a space that showcases his individualism on the court, a solipsistic worldview is impossible to maintain. If he’s going to gain the love of the world, he’s going to have to take it from Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook – and the only way this works is if he continues to elicit emotion.

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Lillard’s explosive season is the result of a lifetime of watching others select the other option. If nothing else, Lillard is going to work his damnedest to make our decision for us instead of hoping we figure it out ourselves. Both Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook have styles that are arcane by today’s standards. It’s hard to truly grasp Curry’s long-range efficiency and Westbrook’s other-worldly athleticism with words. We can describe what Lillard does because, for the most part, we’ve seen it before. What makes him special is that we’ve never seen anyone do these things with this kind of consistency at his particular size. Earlier this month, Damian Lillard eclipsed 1,500 points and 400 assists for the fourth time in as many seasons he’s been in the NBA, a feat only accomplished by Oscar Robertson and LeBron James – both men a few inches and a few weight classes above him.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of Lillard’s entrance into the casual fan’s daily lexicon is that Steph has inoculated us from the extraordinary. To get a rise out of today’s hoops fans, players must exceed normal standards of exceptionalism because Curry and – to a lesser extent – Westbrook do this so often. Lillard’s biggest challenge, however, also becomes his biggest tool. It’s a double-edged sword that he’s learned to handle so well, especially since All-Star Weekend. In his first game back after the break, Lillard sliced up Curry to the tune of 51 points, seven assists and six steals. In fact, since the break, Lillard is averaging a shade under 40 points per night against point guards who suited up for the mid-season classic. If he’s going to wield a sword, he must sharpen it against his best opponents.

Lillard splits the difference between Westbrook’s life-altering athleticism and Stephen Curry’s paradigm-shifting shooting prowess. To exist in this middle at any other point in the NBA’s history would play to Lillard’s benefit as his game would appeal to those whose sensibilities lie on either side of the spectrum. Westbrook and Curry becoming such unique athletes make it hard to give other point guards equal love – there just isn’t enough room in our collective hearts for three wonder kids.

However, if we don’t marvel at Lillard’s prowess now, are we going to regret not fully immersing ourselves in his prime a decade from now? This isn’t a question about whether we’ll miss out on one of the more statistically fascinating careers, but more about missing out on the adventure of a Lillard performance. The emotionality of watching Lillard is the most understated experience of the 2015-16 season – and if it’s not Curry or Westbrook taking away his shine, it’s the way in which we consume basketball in this social media epoch. When Lillard has it going early, big moments have an inevitability you can only experience watching live. Yes, his ability to get to the rim at will and hit huge shots with the game on the line can exist as autonomous experiences in a Vine, but there’s always early-game foreshadowing that let us know these moments are coming. Like Curry and Westbrook, Lillard’s best makes you feel things. Unlike his counterparts, we rarely take the time to talk about those feelings.

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Lillard does still has some room to grow, and the Blazers are a few levels down on the notional totem pole of Western Conference superiority. A lot of what Lillard ostensibly deserves will come when he’s on a team that wins with more regularity. Curry is the leader of a team that has an opportunity to finish with the best regular season record in the league’s history while Westbrook has already played in the Finals and cemented himself as a multi-dimensional player last season with the absence of his running mate in Kevin Durant.  

Chris Paul still belongs in the conversation for the leagues best point guard along with a wealth of other ball handlers in the Eastern Conference. There are challenges beyond Curry and Westbrook, and a lot of them are created by Lillard himself. A raise in consistency on the defensive end an increased efficiency inside the 3-point line are the next steps in terms of aligning himself with his contemporaries. We can’t measure what he brings to the game more than anything else, but we can do a better job of appreciating the way he makes us feel.