I’m tired of pretending that this isn’t the case. I honestly think that Dame has been the best point guard in the league for the last five years. This would be an undisputed fact if some guy named Steph Curry wasn’t in the league. I guess Kyrie Irving too. Too many times have I seen a Blazer’s game, and too many times the game was being taken over by Damian Lillard.
“Dame Time” as he calls it is nothing short of spectacular. You want poster dunks? You got it. You want deep shots from the logo? Dame invented those. You want game winners? Look no further. At the time of writing this, Damian Lillard just hit a game winner against the Mavericks from the top of the key. This obviously isn’t his first rodeo. Dame has got an entire careers worth of game winners under his belt, he’s got highlights that will make anyone get hype, and above all else, he’s a winner.
The Trailblazers are 16-10 on the season, and they are sitting at 5th in the Western Conference. Since being drafted in 2012, the Blazers have only had two seasons under .500, and you can argue that if those seasons weren’t riddled with injury, they would have been over .500. It would be easy for me to say that if any team didn’t have their best player, then that team wouldn’t win basketball games. With Portland, it is much different. This team lives and dies in what Lillard does, because if they don’t, they have to rely on Carmelo Anthony, who I love for the record, but isn’t what he used to be. CJ McCollum is a very good player as well, but is he a guy that can be the best player on a team? That is yet to be seen.
Damian Lillard, in my eyes, is a one of one kind of player. The biggest thing for me is his consistency. For his entire career, with the exception of his rookie year, he has averaged over 20 points per game. He has always hovered around 6 assists per game, he’s always shot above 44% from the field, and 34% from deep, moving closer and closer to 40% in the last few years. I’d argue that Dame has deserved to be in the MVP conversation every year, much like LeBron James. Are they the same kind of player? No. Is Damian Lillard as good as LeBron James? Also no. That’s a hard hurdle to jump for anyone. However, Damian Lillard’s importance to the Trailblazer’s organization shouldn’t be overlooked. Without Dame Time, there is no hope for the Blazers.
Back to the “giving people roses while they’re still around,” Dame deserves bushels of roses. Lillard has had the chance to leave the Blazers and look for greener grass to win a championship, and he’s decided to stay loyal to Portland and their fans. That is extremely rare in today’s game. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Udonis Haslem, Bradley Beal, and Damian Lillard come to mind when I think “loyalty.” UD is true blue loyal to Miami. With the Golden State crew, you could argue that if they hadn’t won 3 championships in the past few years, they would have moved on, and Bradley Beal has been involved in multiple trade rumors. Dame is left alone in this category in my eyes.
I just want Dame to get his respect. So good, for so long, and so consistent. He may never win a championship, and that will be sad, but loyalty should count for something. I’m here to say that loyalty does go a long way in my book. Hopefully more players coming into the league will take a page from Dame’s book. I can only hope.
Round The Game 
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