It's been the narrative of his entire career from high school to mid-major college star to undersized NBA guard: the fuel to Damian Lillard's fire has been those who have doubted the Trail Blazers point guard along the way.
As the Blazers' entire starting lineup from a year ago, excluding Lillard, departed Portland in the offseason, many in the media projected the Lillard-led Trail Blazers to be destined for the lottery in 2015-16. Instead, the team captured the fifth seed in the Western Conference with 44 wins and Portland won its second playoff series since 2000 -- all while Lillard cemented himself as one of the top point guards in the NBA.