We Are Lucky To Have Damian Lillard

Let’s take a moment to realize how lucky we are to have Damian Lillard on our Blazers.  For real.

This is a town that really does love this team.  It’s easily evidenced when you go to a game.  Everybody is there, everybody is supportive, and everybody is loud and paying attention.  And we’ve had some great players over the years.  Clyde Drexler, Bill Walton, Terry Porter, LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy…  the list is long and distinguished.  But damn…  I don’t think even the most ardent Clyde Drexler fan can really argue that Damian Lillard isn’t the best.  The man is just a phenom.

Last night’s game vs. the Houston Rockets is really the capstone of evidence for this.  Most players will never come close to scoring 40 points in a single game.  LeBron James, the all-time points leader in the NBA has only done it a handful of times, and when he does, it makes headlines.  Damian scored 41 points last night…  in the first half.  The man threw down 71 points last night.  71!

For comparison, that has only been done 10 times in NBA history…  and 6 of those were Wilt Chamberlain in the 60’s, and I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but that dude couldn’t have done that in today’s NBA.  The athleticism of the players only grows from year-to-year, and Wilt would have been just a pretty good ballplayer these days.  To put it in further context, only ONE player has achieved that number in the modern era, and that was Kobe Bryant.  Michael Jordan…  the Michael Jordan of basketball…  has never scored 71 points in a single game.

And Jordan played for the legendary Chicago Bulls.  6 championship rings.  Kobe played for the Los Angeles Lakers.  5 rings.  LeBron wins championships wherever he goes.  4 rings for that man.

Damian Lillard has no rings at all.  None.  And yet…  he still plays in Portland.  We need to be thankful.  And shower him with affection every time he comes up in conversation.

~Jake from 98.7 The Bull