He could have signed elsewhere or asked to be traded to a preferred destination. After all, the Portland Trail Blazers are anything but a title contender nowadays. The Blazers might not even reach the play-in tournament given their current 29-32 record on the year.
And yet, Damian Lillard chose to remain a Trail Blazer.
Even though many thought he would want out of Portland prior to the 2022-2023 season, Lillard did just the opposite. Instead of asking for a trade, the sixth pick in the 2012 NBA Draft signed a two-year contract extension last July. The deal would earn him an additional $225M dollars and put him in a Portland uniform until the end of the 2024-2025 campaign. His new deal also means Lillard can’t be traded until July 9th, 2023.
Lillard Reminds People: It’s Dame Time
While Portland may not be a title contender, that doesn’t mean Damian Lillard won’t showcase his elite offensive skill set on a team that’s averaging 115.2 points per game this season.
In 48 regular-season games this year, Lillard is averaging 32.1 points (third in the NBA), 7.2 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and shooting 38% from the 3pt line. For the month of February alone, he’s averaging 40 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and 41.7% three-point shooting.
On Monday against the Houston Rockets, Lillard reminded the rest of the league what he’s capable of doing when his shot is on.
In their 131-114 conquest of Jalen Green’s Rockets, Lillard exploded for a career-high 71 points on 22 for 38 field goal shooting. He nailed 13 threes- just one shy of Klay Thompson’s single game record with the Golden State Warriors. Lillard tied Donovan Mitchell’s 71-point outing earlier this season. And like Mitchell, Lillard found himself drug tested after his career-high performance.
In an NBA season where people mostly talked about how LeBron James managed to become the new all-time leading scorer, or how the Phoenix Suns are now a superteam after acquiring Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets, Lillard continues to be underappreciated.
Nobody was talking about Lillard until the 71-point explosion. The 32 year old can make any shot from virtually anywhere on the court. He’s about as pure a shooter as they come and can score from any distance.
Lillard: An All-Time Great
Just because he isn’t on a winning squad doesn’t mean he’s not a great player. He’s an all-time shooter who seems to get better the bigger the moment is. People tend to forget how many times Lillard bailed the Blazers out in the playoffs with his game-winning threes.
While there’s a chance that Lillard will never win a championship in Portland, we cannot take away anything from Lillard. Regardless if he wins a title or not, he’ll be considered one of the best offensive point guards to ever play the game.
More importantly, in an era of player empowerment, where stars change teams at the drop of a hat, Lillard will be remembered as one of the most loyal NBA stars who chose to stay with his team despite numerous opportunities to join another.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Frenchieinportland. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.