How Lillard’s trophy case stacks up against all-time great PGs:
Over the last few years, metrics have done their part to try to devalue the importance of All-Star Game appearances and All-NBA games, but here’s the cold hard truth: in all-time debates and rankings, the masses of basketball fans still view this as a convenient turn-to.
Ask the average expert why Chris Webber isn’t a Hall of Famer right now, and they’ll point to him “only” having five All-NBA appearances. There’s a real correlation between the two. So, a decade-or-so down the line, if you happen to see me angry, it has nothing to do with work or traffic. It’s because Damian Lillard will probably have ten All-Star appearances, when he should have 12.
In all seriousness, in this, we’ll consider four different accolades: All-Star appearances, All-NBA team nods, titles (and Finals MVPs), and any miscellaneous awards in order to see how Lillard compares before age 30. Let’s take a look.
All-Star appearances:
- Isiah Thomas — 10
- Chris Paul — 8
- Bob Cousy — 8
- Russell Westbrook — 7
- Kyrie Irving — 6
- Jason Kidd — 6
- Walt Frazier — 6
- Damian Lillard — 5
- Gary Payton — 5
- John Stockton — 4
- Steve Nash — 2
All-NBA teams:
- Chris Paul — 7
- Russell Westbrook — 7
- Bob Cousy — 7
- Walt Frazier — 6
- Jason Kidd — 5
- Gary Payton — 5
- Isiah Thomas — 5
- John Stockton — 5
- Damian Lillard — 4*
- Kyrie Irving — 2
- Steve Nash — 2
Takeaways: It should be noted, Lillard was a surefire choice to receive his fifth All-NBA selection this year, potentially another First Team nod. This puts him right on pace with many of history’s best floor generals. When the NBA resumes, he should also be well-perched to surpass Frazier (finished with six) and Thomas (finished with five), making him an easy addition to the conversation.
Most Valuable Player awards:
- Russell Westbrook — 1
- Bob Cousy — 1
- The rest — 0
NBA championships:
- Isiah Thomas — 2
- Walt Frazier — 2
- Bob Cousy — 1
- Kyrie Irving — 1
- The rest — 0
Finals MVPs:
- Isiah Thomas — 1
- The rest — 0
Takeaways: Would it be bold to agree with Lillard’s notion that we underrated Thomas a bit?
Outside of that, one could wonder if the lack of other hardware could hurt Lillard. There’s not much else out there, but the likes of Payton, Paul and Stockton have countless All-Defensive Team selections. He’s also one of just three guards mentioned here without an NBA Finals appearance. Still, from both an accolade and statistical standpoint, he more than holds his own.