Portland Trail Blazers: The greatest Opening Day performances in franchise history (Pt. 2)

No. 1: Damian Lillard

Date: October 25th, 2016 vs. Utah Jazz
Statistics: 39 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists | 13-of-20 FG | 4-of-6 3P | 9-of-9 FT

One year removed from proving he could take an unestablished team on a deep postseason run, Damian Lillard wasted little time sending a message on the Opening Night of the 2016-17 season.

In a matchup against what would prove to be the NBA’s No. 1 defense, Lillard won the “chess matches” against Utah’s design, blowing by soon-to-be Rudy Gobert and his dropped coverage, and time-and-time again attacking the rim with nifty finishes over his 7-foot-9 wingspan.

From a box score standpoint, Lillard’s raw efficiency and scoring was a notch lower than Vandeweghe’s but all’s forgiven considering the difficulty of both the shots and the opponent.

And from a theatrical standpoint, Lillard’s output was much more thrilling, as he helped the Portland Trail Blazers overcome a late deficit, and iced the game with a stone-cold pull-up three pointer that put them up for good.

It set the vibe early for what Lillard was preparing to do that year. It was his then-most efficient season of his career, and he saw his shots within three feet raise nearly six percentage points. And though the Blazers were without Playoff success in 2016-17, this proved to be one of the more underrated games of the Portland star’s playing career.