Basketball Heaven
Not everything about the 2022 all-star weekend was must-see; however, we did get to see basketball royalty on basketball’s biggest stage during the regular season. The members of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team was introduced at halftime of the all-star game. For true basketball fans, this was a time to soak in basketball’s greatest players to ever touch a basketball. Unfortunately, for others, it was a time to see who made the list and who didn’t make the list. One of the players that got questioned about making the list was Damian Lillard. However you feel about where Lillard ranks among the greats, you have to acknowledged that Lillard deserved to be on the list.
Lillard’s Resume
Most people criticize Lillard for the lack of accolades on his 10-year resume. If we take a deeper look, there is no question about how elite Lillard has been since he stepped into the league. In Lillard’s last six seasons, he has averaged 27 ppg and seven assists. Since that 2015 season, only Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook at the point guard position, can say they put up those numbers.
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Damian Lillard has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting five times…FIVE. So half of his career in the NBA, you can argue he has been one of the ten best players. One of the guys people argue to put over Lillard is Kyrie Irving. Guess how many top ten finishes he has had…ZERO. Know that doesn’t discredit what Irving has done and the greatness he has displayed, but just another reason to why Lillard deserves his spot.
Lillard has also added in six all star appearances, 1x Rookie of the Year, 1x All-NBA First Team, 4x All-NBA Second Team and 1x All-NBA Third Team. With those accolades being said, Lillard has proved year in and year out that he is in contention for being either the best or second best point guard in the league. Not to mention, he has carried his team to the playoffs eight out of the ten years he has spent in Portland, including one trip to the WCF. Now, they didn’t reach the ultimate goal, but he has been nothing but terrific in those clutch situations.
Doesn’t Mean Anything Without a Ring
The one criticism that comes with Lillard’s game is that he hasn’t had the playoff success that ultimately is capped off with a ring and spraying champagne in the locker room. Lillard has had his opportunity to leave Portland, but Lillard has been adamant multiple times on how he’d rather lose in Portland than win with a superteam somewhere else.
No one has questioned the talent or the player that Lillard has been; however, that’s the one knock that people have on Lillard is not winning a championship. In today’s basketball and sports society in general, we place so much emphasis on being a champion. And if you are not a champion, it disregards whatever else a player has accomplished. While I do agree with putting a large emphasis on being a champion, it cannot be the end all be all. If Lillard did leave to another team to a potential contender there is no doubt that Lillard would have that achievement to his name by now; however, it does not look like that will happen with Dame.
So if you got a problem with the list, I have no problem with that. Guys like Tracy McGrady, Dwight Howard, Alex English, Tony Parker could be argued to be on that list. With that being said, the guy that cannot be removed off that list for those people is Damian Lillard.
2 Comments
I’m curious how you feel this post has aged…
I love Dame and completely agree with your thoughts on winning vs not winning a championship. But I think this selection is purely recency bias.
You mention that there are only 2 guys putting up 27-7 since 2015 but we are talking about 75 years of NBA history for this list. Plenty of guys had huge peaks (McGrady was 28-7-5 in 4 seasons with the Magic as an example). But Dame only has 6 all star selections. And only has 1 all-nba first team (only 5 total). No scoring title, no MVP, no defensive awards.
A guy like Dwight Howard (who I dislike to be clear) is an 8 time all star, 8 time all nba (with 5 first team selections), 5 time defensive first team, 4 time defensive player of the year, took a team to the conference finals as well… I just think it’s not even close to an open and shut case for Dame without longevity or a little higher peak when we are talking about the best of all time.
I think it’s aged fine … let’s start off with your first point. It’s hard to base this off recency bias when he hasn’t played in a year and a half. And second I think guys like mcgrady, Howard and English should be on the list just not at the expense of Lillard, that’s all.