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6 Months After Dropping NBA Career High, Damian Lillard Unloads the Truth About Getting Drug Tested: “Ain’t the Same Story”

Published 09/19/2023, 3:51 PM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Last NBA season, there were mind-boggling offensive performances. It was one of the biggest record-breaking seasons, scoring-wise. LeBron James, becoming the All-Time Leading Scorer after passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar underscores that. Apart from that, there were some mesmerizing individual offensive performances. In early January, Donovan Mitchell went off for a 71-point masterpiece, but little did he know that somebody would equal it soon.

It was none other than Damian Lillard, who erupted for 71 points in late February. As he hit his career high, reports of a drug test started floating.

Damian Lillard clears the air

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It was February 27th, and the Trail Blazers were hovering at a 50% win record, still in the Playoffs/Play-in hunt. They played a struggling Rockets team and Dame went off. He nailed 13 of his 22 attempts from the three-point range and shot 22 of 38 in the game. He also made 14 free throws and had a stunning 71-point game. Before their dramatic downfall, this game became a huge deal. Not only for the 71 points, but because it could have changed the momentum. It didn’t, but it cemented Lillard’s legacy as one of the best scorers.

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But then, after the game, he also had to take a drug test. It was to see if he was using Performance-enhancing Drugs(PED). He cleared the test. Now, more than six months after this incident, the Guard opened up about it. He went to the YouTube channel Come and Talk 2 Me’s show It is What It Is. He joined rapper duo Cam’ron & Ma$e alongside Treasure “Stat Baby” Wilson. Mase asked Lillard, ”When they drug-tested you, were you offended about that?

This question brought a smile to the Guard’s face. He replied, “Naw, I feel that’s a thing in the league. If they drug-tested me right after, it ain’t got nothing to it”. To this Cam’ron answered, “I would be fu**ing offended”. However, Lillard didn’t make much of it.

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Damian Lillard considers this a routine operation

The Guard continued, “Yes, I mean, it’s decided in advance. It ain’t like they were just randomly like oh we gotta randomly drug test you. You just don’t know so I mean I wasn’t”. This made Mase say, “Oh, it wasn’t because of the 71”. Lillard replied, “no” and then he observed, “Everybody when they report, they make it seem, oh he got reported, he got tested because he had 71”.

READ MORE: 11 Years After “Ending” 2x NBA MVP’s Career, Damian Lillard Comes Clean on the Infamous Incident: “ I Feel Bad Bruh”

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He continued, “There’s games where you had 21 and you and you get tested. But don’t nobody tweet or Instagram nothing about that sh** because it ain’t the same story”. Lillard’s remarks imply that the media made a mountain hill out of a molehill.

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Written by:

Shubham Singh

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Shubham is an NBA Writer at Essentially Sports. He became a fan of the NBA in late 2000s and his interest skyrocketed after Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks upset the Miami Heat in Six Games during 2011 NBA Finals. He loves looking into playing styles of different players and teams while also trying to analyse what circumstances shape a typical NBA game.
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Edited by:

Saumya Khanduja