Our boy is about to blow up! [video=youtube;5wutyzYvcKk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wutyzYvcKk[/video]
Pretty sure "8-bit Dame" is already blowing up. Statistically, his rookie year is a ridiculous. PG of the now and next decade. Love this kid - he's just an all-around good player and person. His first national commercial is just the next step in the process, FAMS!
The next step in the process of what, exactly? Pardon me for being a cynical grumpy old asshole, but he still toils in podunk Portland, OR. If he's going to really "blow up", he's going to bolt in free agency to a large market and leave us behind. That's the way the game is played in the NBA. Brandon Roy before the knees was superstar quality, but even he was just a blip on the NBA map compared to Kobe, D. Rose, LeBron, and any of the Boston geriatrics. Most pundits publicly whined about Greg Oden playing "out in the middle of nowhere" when he was drafted. And LaMarcus is an All-Star, but where's his billboards? Where's his national shoe commericals? Nice little cameo on "Portlandia", though, bro. 35+ years of following this team in many different eras of the NBA have shown me not to get too invested in any player, because if they get too good, they are gone. Either trade, free agency, or injury. That's just how it is.
There's been plenty of players over the years that have received lots of attention from small markets. We're seeing it now with OKC, even. Will Damian be pimped like MJ, Kobe, Wade, Lebron, or even a guy like Larry Johnson? No. But he'll certainly get some attention, and it's started. Why? Because people love talent. I can't think of a time when any other Blazer gathered this much attention as a rookie. I'm not saying he's going to be huge, but I'm starting to believe he'll get more endorsement attention than any other Blazers player (while on the Blazers roster, that is; we all know Pippen got a bit of attention while in Chicago). As for Roy.... he didn't get much attention because, frankly, aside from some huge shots, he wasn't flashy and that made him less marketable and kinda boring to those outside of Oregon.
Durant has "blown up" in Oklahoma City. Lebron blew up in Cleveland. Howard (and Shaq before him) became superstars in Orlando. Garnett did the same in Minneapolis. Talent transcends location, pure and simple. IF Dame actually has what it takes to become a legitimate superstar, the fact that he's in Portland won't prevent it. EDIT: basically, what BlazingGiants said.
Yeah but if you have "Star Personality" then the media will find you. I like LMA. The camera does not. No personality. Neither did Clyde. Most players don't. Lillard may have the cool "it" factor. Of course until they start winning, it makes no difference from a national standpoint. Unless you are Jeremy Lin. But that is for a different reason. If you are marketable they will promote you.
What happened to drexler then? Was he not flashy enough? Was he not as clutch? Maybe the superstar pool back then was so large? Jordan was the guard to drool over? I never understood why he was always overlooked.
Hell, even BRoy was a few of those Nike commercial, and he was as un-flashy as they come. Sheed got some nice features as well.
Clyde had personality on the court, but not off the court. He still doesn't. Maybe he came across as too nice? Not sure. But even in an era of Larry/Magic (Early Career) and Michael/ Sir Charles later career, he did not have the "cool" persona. Barkley is a good example of a guy who had it with out winning it all. But the camera liked him regardless of what came out of his mouth. Lillard is cool. He has potential to be a star....off court too.
Lillard can blow up (to an extent) in PDX but a lot of the will depend on playoff success. This is when everybody watches. The casual and even non fans. And this is when it is the only game on at times.
Clyde was known as a polite, low key guy off court, and he shared the same position as Jordan. The only thing I'd add to Blazer Giants excellent post was people love talent and personality. Dame has both.
Totally agreed. He is talented and a great person (I did mention that he was a good person in my first post in this thread). I mean, he's accessible to the fans. I've seen him stand and sign autographs for a horde of people until every last one of them had his sig. He's very accessible through social media. He posts fun things on FB that let's you know it's him posting, not someone else running his page. He's smart and well-spoken. He comes off as sincere and genuine. I mean, you add that to the fact he's a talent and exciting ballplayer, and I'm not sure we've ever quite had this type of package in a player before. B-Roy was close, but I don't think he was quite at this level as a whole, well-rounded package, IMO.
