DAMIAN LILLARD
Lillard Time.
Big Game Dame.
Dolla.
The accolades and the affectionate nicknames are piling up for the Trail Blazers’ latest All-Star and the franchise’s current best player, Damian Lillard.
When Lillard takes the court for Team Steph Sunday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, it will mark the 41st time that a Trail Blazer has represented Rip City in basketball’s ultimate showcase.
Lillard, out of Weber State in Utah, is making his third All-Star appearance. Some might argue that he deserved to make the team in 2016 and 2017, too, when he was not invited to participate.
And Lillard is quickly climbing the ranks on the Blazers’ all-time greats lists. He recently moved into fifth place on the team’s all-time scoring list, and will probably finish the season at No. 4. He’s already No. 4 on the Blazers’ all-time assists list. Plus, he’s the franchise leader in both three-pointers made and free throw percentage. Only Kiki Vandeweghe scored more points per game than Lillard has thus far in his Blazers career.
In short, Lillard is establishing himself as one of the greatest Blazers of all time. In fact, he says he wants to be “the best Blazer ever,” which means he’s looking to dethrone Clyde Drexler.
And if any player can do that, it’s Dame. After all, nobody — not even the great Drexler — reached 10,000 points as a Trail Blazer faster than Lillard.
Dame continues to scale the heights of Blazers greatness. And I’m sure we’ll get to watch him represent Rip City at the All-Star game for many years to come.