Portland Trail Blazers: The greatest Opening Day games in franchise history (Pt. 1)

No. 7: Damian Lillard

Date: October 31st, 2012 vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Statistics: 23 points, 11 assists, 3 rebounds, 7-of-17 from the field, 8-of-8 from the free throw line

Here’s another one of those games that had significance that outweighs that of a box score. Damian Lillard has performed better on Opening Day (take last year’s game against Denver, for example).

But in regards to greatness, this one is unrivaled by most.

In the first game of his professional career, Lillard found himself up against a Los Angeles Lakers team expected to be Western Conference representatives in the NBA Finals, headlined by a duo of Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.

In shorter terms, all would have been forgiven if Portland gave a spirited fight, and came up short.

The Weber State grad showed exceptional poise, working pick-and-roll synergy with All-Star big LaMarcus Aldridge, creating offense for others, and hitting timely shots that kept the Lakers at an arm’s distance.

The biggest picture of all? Whereas most point guards would have likely needed a few weeks to find their footing in the NBA, Lillard showed that he’d expedited the process, and that gave the Blazers confidence to hang onto a Playoff spot for the first half of that season.

By game’s end, he joined Isiah Thomas and Oscar Robertson as the only players to score 20 points and 10 assists in the first games of their career.