Turning 36 this July, Damian Lillard has a few years left to boost his Hall of Fame credentials. Some have argued, though, that he should already be a shoo-in, given his body of work. And after seeing that Amar'e Stoudemire will be enshrined as part of the 2026 class, the Portland Trail Blazers' own case has been given a boost.
This is no knock on Stoudemire. In many ways, he is deserving of the honor, as he amassed 15,994 points and 6,632 rebounds over his career. But his impact on the sport goes beyond the numbers. He helped make the small-ball lineup popular in the 2000s, and he was a major reason his former Phoenix Suns teammate Steve Nash won two consecutive MVP awards in 2005 and 2006.
Unfortunately, injuries stood in the way of Stoudemire experiencing greater success in the NBA. However, during his peak, he was easily one of the league's premier big men and consistently made life difficult for opposing power forwards and centers.
Dame's career is better than that of Amar'e
Despite some key accomplishments missing in Stoudemire's HOF resume, he still secured enough votes from the screening committee. Considering that Lillard has achieved more, the Blazers icon has got to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer one day.
Their career totals and averages aren't even comparable. Dame is 37th in the career points ladderboard and 41st in assists. He is only bound to rise in the rankings once he is healthy enough to play again. It's also worth noting that the star point guard is 14th among all players in average scoring and is one of the 11 members of the 70-point club.
In the playoffs, Lillard has also been the better and more memorable performer overall. Sure, Stoudemire had his moments, particularly when he was still on the Suns. But Dame Time is just in on a different level, proving to be one of the most reliable and exciting players in crunch time in the postseason.
Oh, and let's not forget that Lillard is a part of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. That alone should ensure his induction into the Hall of Fame in the future.
Dame meets the standards
In spite of his accolades, some critics continue to doubt whether the nine-time All-Star deserves to enter the Hall of Fame. Among those who have been really vocal against it recently is Patrick Beverley. The talking head asserted that only a title should qualify Lillard for the Hall of Fame, even bringing up the fact that Derrick Rose isn't a surefire inductee despite having an MVP to his name.
But if you look at the names canonized in the Hall of Fame as players, not everyone is a champion or an MVP. And Stoudemire will be among them after the ceremony.
So, should the standards be different for someone like Lillard? There's no reason to believe that it would.