For the second consecutive season The Portland Trailblazers will fail to make the playoffs, but for Blazers head coach Terry Stotts he has found a diamond in the rough in rookie point guard Damian Lillard. Last year’s National Basketball Association Draft was dominated by college freshman and sophomores, but Lillard entered as a four-year player from Weber State University. At Weber State, Lillard was a two-time Big Sky Conference Player of The Year as he averaged 18.6 points for his collegiate career. The Trailblazers selected Lillard sixth overall in the draft, but he turned heads at last summer’s NBA Summer League in Las Vegas where he averaged 26.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.
In his first career game, Lillard scored 23 points and added 11 assists in a 116-106 victory over The Los Angeles Lakers. Last Wednesday, Lillard scored a season-high 38 as he dueled with Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant who dropped in 47 points. Lillard’s contribution was not enough as Portland fell to Los Angeles 113-106. On the season Lillard’s 19.0 points per game and 6.5 assists lead all NBA rookies as he appears to be a lock to win The NBA Rookie of The Year Award as he would be the first Trailblazer to win the award since Brandon Roy won it for the 2006-2007 season.
Lillard is a native of Oakland, California who is looking to carry on the legacy of Bay Area point guards such as former Seattle Sonics point guard Gary Payton and current New York Knicks point guard Jason Kidd. The reputation of Oakland guard appears to be in good hands with Lillard. The Western Conference is stacked with All-Stat caliber point guards such as Chris Paul of The Los Angeles Clippers and Tony Parker of The San Antonio Spurs. It won’t be long before Lillard is mentioned in the same breath as Parker and Paul and it also won’t be long before Lillard leads Portland back to the postseason.
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