Lillard Compares NBA Playoffs To Royal Rumble, Wants Title Parade For Portland

It is no secret that among many off-court endeavors, Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard is a pro wrestling fan.

He once arrived at game day on a Stone Cold "Austin 3:16" shirt and mask on Halloween of 2018.

He even debated with WWE fans earlier in that same year regarding his best wrestlers of all time.

On Sunday, Lillard made another wrestling-related statement that is relevant to their campaign, comparing the NBA playoffs to WWE's Royal Rumble event.

"I'm a big wrestling fan and not everybody gets to participate in the Royal Rumble, but we've been in the Royal Rumble the last eight years," Lillard said, as noted by reporter Sean Highkin.

"We haven't been the last man standing yet, but we've continued to be there."

The six-time All-Star, now in his ninth year with the franchise, remains driven by his ultimate goal of delivering a championship trophy to the city, even going as far as describing his dream parade scenario.

"I don't only want to win a championship. I want to do it in this city. I want to have a parade down Broadway and ride past El Gaucho," Lillard shared.

Blazers center Enes Kanter has been vocal about Lillard's loyalty to Portland, refusing to join "super teams" and staying focused on his goal with the franchise.

“You see why players like CJ [McCollum], players like Dame [Lillard], want to stick around and don’t care about the other cities, other markets,” Kanter said in January, per NBC Sports.

“They just want to be here and win a championship in Portland. For sure it’s definitely one of the well-rounded organizations in the league.”

The 6-foot-3 scorer carried the Blazers to a sixth-seed finish in the Western Conference, an improvement from their finish last season where they had to beat the ninth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in a play-in game.

They will open the playoffs against the third-ranked Denver Nuggets.

"We're not coming here just to say, this is our eighth straight year. We're trying to make something happen. If it doesn't, it doesn't. But we're trying to get something done," Lillard closed.

The 30-year-old guard is averaging a third-best 28.8 points (92.8% free throws), 4.2 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in 67 games.