Thorpe: Blazers G Damian Lillard Could Top Anthony Davis As Best Player In 2012 Draft

David Thorpe of ESPN.com continues to set a high bar of expectations for Portland Trail Blazers rookie guard Damian Lillard.

The NBA has seen some superstar point guards enter the league these past few years -- Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving -- and each of them showed much of that potential as rookies. Lillard showed that type of talent during summer league in Las Vegas.

The sixth overall pick seems headed for a long career as a starting point guard, which would mean Portland had a successful draft. But if Lillard is able to score and run his team as he did in Vegas and in some games this preseason, then the Blazers could very well end up with the top player from this draft.

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Guys such as Lillard and [Harrison] Barnes already have shown they will be contenders for "best player in the draft."

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter