ESPN: Blazers' Damian Lillard, Nicolas Batum Among NBA's Top 25 Under-25

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard and forward Nicolas Batum both placed among ESPN.com's Top 25 NBA Players under the age of 25. Amin Elhassan, David Thorpe and Kevin Pelton compiled the rankings.

Lillard placed at No. 8 and Batum ranked No. 16.  Here are quick thoughts on both Lillard and Batum from our old friend KP2.

Pelton: Next season will probably be Lillard's last big step forward. Similar players tended to settle in at the level of play they reached at age 24.

Pelton: A long-time WARP favorite because of his 3s and steals, Batum is unlikely to grow much statistically going forward. Similar players stayed at exactly the same level the next season.

Last year, Batum ranked No. 16 and Lillard ranked No. 21.

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