After 18 legendary seasons in the NBA, Russell Westbrook retired from the game Wednesday. Considering Westbrook was Damian Lillard's direct Western Conference foe all those years, it serves as a reminder for Trail Blazers fans to enjoy Lillard's second stint in Portland while they still can.
Lillard, 36, is just one year younger than Westbrook, 37. This Blazers era also marks the 15th season in his career, suggesting he could only have a few left in the tank. Lillard has a $14.1 million player option for 2027-28, but ultimately everything will depend on what level he returns to following injury.
After the Milwaukee Bucks bought him out in a move to clear space to bring in Myles Turner, Lillard and the Blazers were an ideal match for each other. Not only was he back in Portland rehabbing close to family, but he also made this reunion a basketball decision. That up-and-coming Blazers roster gives him a puncher's chance at something both he and Westbrook have failed to acquire: a ring.
Can the Blazers' young core get Damian Lillard his first ring?
But the timing worked out well because the young Blazers could afford to be patient in bringing Lillard back. In terms of longevity, hopefully that season off was good to give the rest of his body a break, especially as an undersized 6-foot-2 guard.
It's actually that small frame that could give Lillard a chance to prolong his career compared to Westbrook. The triple-double machine likely had a better peak than Lillard, even winning NBA MVP in 2017. However, the one thing Lillard has going in his favor as far as aging is that a jump shot is typically the last thing to go.
We just got a glimpse of that when Lillard, having not even played a single game last season, came in and still won the 3-Point Contest? Westbrook was so reliant on his physical tools and using his athleticism with that ball-handling and 6-foot-5 frame to have a matchup advantage going downhill. He was impressively still athletic towards the end of his career, but it was a rocky transition into that lessened role.
Westbrook even turned into a journeyman to finish his career, going from the Rockets, Wizards, Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, and Kings in the span of just seven seasons. Whether that was because it was hard to find interest around the league is fair to wonder, especially towards the end of his career. The fact that a Hall of Fame career is ending after a season with the Kings tells you everything you need to know about that. Lillard even drew more interest in free agency on a torn Achilles!
Westbrook's Hall of Fame career deserves its flowers. And while it should remind Blazers fans to appreciate Dame while they still can, the truth is nobody knows how long that will be. We can cling to Lillard's gap year and ability to age gracefully thanks to his elite shooting.
Portland finally has the defensive infrastructure in place to cover for him on that side of the ball. They also have more than enough playmakers to take the burden off Lillard in that regard. If he can squeeze out a few more years in his career like the 38-year-old Steph Curry, Lillard could even have a chance to play a complementary role in a Finals run.
Portland's young core will be in its collective prime by then, plus any assets they can turn those Milwaukee Bucks picks into. It's going to be like the Ninja Turtles carrying an aging Master Splinter because the students are all grown up now. That wasn't a chapter at the end of Westbrook's journey, so hopefully it's in Lillard's storybook return to Portland.
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