Damian Lillard Among Top Shooters of Decade

The NBA is in a golden-age of shooters, and the Portland Trail Blazers have one of the best in the league on their roster.

ESPN released their list of the absolute best shooters of this NBA decade, and Damian Lillard comes in at no. 8 on the list:

If it weren’t for Curry, Lillard would be revolutionary -- the greatest deep 3-point shooter we’ve ever seen. Along with Curry, Lillard is changing the way the league looks at acceptable shot distances. Both of these guys are comfortable pulling up from 30-plus feet, a distance that would have been laughable at the beginning of this century. Nobody’s laughing now, as Lillard is using those deep triples to great effect.

Lillard has made huge shots in huge moments with monster game winners against Houston in 2014 and Oklahoma City in 2019. The OKC shot will go down in history as the boldest game winner in playoff history. The cool, calm 37-footer that ended the Westbrook era in OKC would’ve been a terrible shot for most NBA shooters, but Lillard isn’t most shooters. During the 2018-19 season, Lillard made more than 39% of his attempts from between 30 and 40 feet.

Steph Curry unsurprisingly tops the list. Others making the cut include Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James.