#15: Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard ranks as the fifteenth best player in the NBA. He is positioned between Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Boston’s Al Horford.
This ranking signifies that Lillard is among the elite tier in the NBA. And with only Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, and Chris Paul ranked above him, Lillard truly is as good as “any point guard in this league.”
On Lillard, Golliver and Mahoney write:
"After years of griping about his All-Star snubs, Lillard (26.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 6.6 APG) backed into a far better honor: The 2018 All-NBA First Team. For once, the murky voting criteria—stats, winning, name recognition, narrative—coalesced in his favor. The 28-year-old point guard was healthier than Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and Jimmy Butler, and his Blazers were steadier and more functional than Russell Westbrook’s Thunder. His statistical portfolio was impeccable: He ranked top five in scoring, top 10 in clutch points, top 10 in PER, Win Shares and WARP, and top 15 in Real Plus-Minus. And Lillard had a compelling story too: He was a highly-respected offensive weapon, an improved defender, and the unquestioned leader of an overachieving No. 3 seed."
Not only is Lillard a tremendously talented NBA guard, but he also possesses the intangibles that make him a respected leader in the locker room and committed face of the franchise. And it’s clear that he could come into any team in any context and show immediate positive impact to the whole organization. Lillard’s effect goes beyond his production on the court.
The only thing Lillard still has to prove in this league is that he can win with this Trail Blazers team in the playoffs.
This is a tall order for a player on a team that’s handcuffed by some bad contracts in a stacked Western Conference, but Lillard is a top-shelf star that could certainly live up to the pressure. His place among the top-15 is much-deserved.