Damian Lillard received only one collegiate scholarship offer. He played four years at Weber State. And he was cut from USA Basketball’s FIBA World Cup squad in August. The Portland Trail Blazers point guard knows what it’s like to be underappreciated, and has used that feeling as fuel for a still burgeoning All-Star career. And he was just afforded even more of it.
After league analysts Isiah Thomas and Greg Anthony left Lillard off their lists of the league-s top-five point guards, the Oakland, CA product tweeted this in response:
It's always been this way. 😴 pic.twitter.com/xUNXhMbvrW
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) December 17, 2014
The 24 year-old is playing the best basketball of his young career for the 19-6 Blazers.
Lillard is averaging 20.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game – the latter three numbers are personal bests. He’s reached high water marks in PER (22.2) and true shooting percentage (58.5), too, all while making necessary strides on the other end that have helped spur Portland to the league’s sixth-best defense. Lillard’s biggest improvement, though, has come at the rim: he’s finishing 63.6 percent of his shots from the restricted area in 2014-2015 compared to 49.9 percent in 2013-2014.
Lillard was a surefire All-Star last season and is clearly better now, basically. He’s among the top-20 or so players in basketball, and will likely climb the list as his career continues.
But has the Blazers’ playoff hero been one of the league’s five best point guards this season? It speaks to the incredible wealth of talent at the position that the question isn’t met with a resounding yes. While we respect and admire Lillard for using this perceived snub as motivation, we also understand Thomas and Anthony leaving him off their lists.
Stephen Curry is perhaps the MVP frontrunner. Chris Paul has been typically brilliant. Kyle Lowry is an All-NBA First Team candidate. John Wall has made the leap. And Russell Westbrook is playing better than any of them since returning from injury.
That’s five floor generals who a majority would say have been better than Lillard this season. There’s an argument to be made for Tony Parker, Mike Conley, Kyrie Irving, and Jeff Teague, too.
Personally, we’d place Lillard right behind that initial quintet. He’s taken steps on both sides of the ball this season, but still lacks the playmaking genius of Curry or Paul and the defensive impact of Lowry or Wall. And Westbrook, well, is on a whole’ nother level than anyone right now.
That’s not a slight to Lillard, but simply an indication of how great those players have been in the season’s early going. Considering his track record of turning disappointment into success, he’ll undoubtedly change our opinion soon enough.
What do you think?
Follow Jack on Twitter at @ArmstrongWinter.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
