Is Damian Lillard the best point guard in the NBA?
Damian Lillard, three-time All Star and the leader of your third place Portland Trail Blazers, is on a tear.
Damian Lillard has led his team to a nine-game winning streak and eleven victories in the last twelve contests. His dominance includes beating Oklahoma City, Minnesota, Utah and the defending champs twice.
As the Trail Blazers’ leader in scoring, assists, and player efficiency ranking, Lillard is clearly the heart and soul of this Portland team. But you already knew that.
How does he stack up against the other elite point guards in the association?
Pre-All-Star Break
Damian Lillard started his dominance from the first game of the 2017-2018 season, dropping a 27-5-5 stat line in a blowout win over the Phoenix Suns.
He averaged 26.1 points per game before the break, trailing only James Harden and Steph Curry in point guard scoring during that span. Lillard converted 3 three-pointers per game, once again trailing only Harden and Curry for the point guard lead.
Even in a league crowded with elite point guard talent, Dame kept pace with the best through the ‘first half’ of the season.
Post-All-Star Break
After his Team Steph leading 21 points in the All-Star Game, Damian Lillard exploded, taking the league and the point guard position by storm.
Since the All-Star Break, Lillard is posting 31.2 points per game, leading all point guards. He is outscoring Harden by over a point per game and Curry by over six.
He’s also averaging 4.4 made three pointers per game, improving on his pre-break average by over a three and matching Steph Curry for the league lead among point guards.
Big Game Stats
Perhaps the most impressive statistic in Damian Lillard’s column is his dominance in ‘Big Games.’
I define big games as games played against the top three seeds (including the Cleveland Cavaliers, which were third in the East at the time this piece was written) in each conference.
Dame dominates these situations. In nine such games this season, he leads all point guards with 32.1 points per game and 4.1 made three-point shots per contest. These numbers are even more impressive when put in context with his regular season averages. When compared to his full body of work, Dame adds 5.2 points to his average in games against top opponents, plus hitting nearly one more three-pointer along the way.
His improvements are even better when compared to the league’s elite at his position.
James Harden maintains his season averages in big games from beyond the arc, while Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, and Kyrie Irving all convert less three-point shots in big games when compared to full season splits.
Harden and Westbrook were the only point guards to improve their scoring average in big games, but neither improved their average by more than a point per game.
In summary, Lillard crushes the league’s elite in bettering his play during big games.
MVP Discussion
Damian Lillard has long been considered a top point guard in his five seasons in the league, but it’s time to go even further – he should be in the conversation for best point guard in the league and in the MVP discussion.
Next: Blazers road to the 50-win milestone this season
Only a year after his team finished a disappointing eighth in the Western Conference, the Lillard-led Blazers have taken the league by storm. His best season to date and a third-place finish in the crowded West, paired with the highest scoring mark for a point guard down the stretch and dominating numbers in big games should lead to MVP votes being sent towards the three-time All-Star this June.