Portland Trail Blazers: 30 greatest players in franchise history
By Ben Beecken
- Six seasons with Trail Blazers (2012-present)
- Averaging 23.1 points and 6.2 assists per game
- 3x All-Star with Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard entered the league as the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft out of tiny Weber State University. There was some question about how his game would transition to the NBA, but those questions were answered in short order.
Lillard immediately stepped in and dominated, averaging 19 and 6.5 assists per game as a rookie. The Trail Blazers went 33-49 while Lillard won NBA Rookie of the Year. However, the next year is when things came together quickly.
Lillard’s numbers grew to 20.7 points per game and 39.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc. As his efficiency improved, so did his team. Portland won 54 games and upset the No. 4 seed Houston Rockets in the first round of playoffs. If you don’t remember how it went down, here you go:
Portland went on to lose to the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in the second round, but Lillard’s series-ending buzzer-beater is what everyone remembers from that season.
Lillard was named to another All-Star team in his third year as a pro as his per-game numbers grew across the board. His scoring numbers continued to rise — 25.1 points per game in 2015-16 and 27 points per game in 2016-17 — but Lillard didn’t make the All-Star team in either season.
However in 2017-18, Lillard made his third All-Star squad and All-NBA team, while the Trail Blazers won 49 games and landed the No. 3 seed. But in a devastating turn of events, they were swept by the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the playoffs.
Lillard is still only 28 years old and at the peak of his game. He’ll be back, both in the playoffs and on the All-Star team. And he may only continue to rise up this prestigious list of all-time Trail Blazers.