Portland Trail Blazers: Stephen A. Smith dishes on NBA’s 2020-21 point guard rankings

Next season, the NBA’s point guard crop will be about as deep as it has ever been. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith discussed his top three, including Damian Lillard and his standing.

As we continue to approach the start of the 2020-21 NBA season, you had best brace yourself for one dominant, recurring question: who holds the throne as the NBA’s premier point guard? Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard? Stephen Curry? Kyrie Irving? Russell Westbrook?

A pair of Most Valuable Player Awards and three NBA championships all but ensured Curry held a white-knuckled grip on the league’s top spot. But, chalk it up as yet another reason to draw intrigue from the upcoming season; with the talented floor generals across the Association, this year appears to be the one in which a true debate surfaces.

In a Twitter back-and-forth with fans, acclaimed ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith echoed those thoughts to his platform.

Portland Trail Blazers fans have to love the final part of that tweet, in Smith urging the public to begin appreciating what Damian Lillard brings to the table on a night-to-night basis.

Much of the basketball world appears to be conceding that Curry, who will be nearly his 33rd birthday when the 2020-21 season picks up steam, will immediately reclaim his spot as the public’s pick for the No. 1 point guard. In this instance, Smith was alluding to what just might be an even more competitive debate: the Lillard vs. Irving question.

The players have normally been differential in terms of debating. Lillard himself displayed the ultimate show of respect in offering that “comparison is the thief of joy,” when asked about the PG comparisons in September.

In that regard, ranking these guards is almost arbitrary; everyone will have a different view, depending on what they prioritize.

But, above anything else, it provides a bit more intrigue on some of the point guard matchups that will highlight the upcoming NBA calendar year. 2020-21 will offer one of the deepest crops of point guard talent in league history. And the Portland Trail Blazers have one of those guards that consistently rises to said challenges.