Lillard Headlines NBA’s “Leading Scorer by Zone” Chart

ESPN’s Kirk Goldsberry continued his annual “top scorer by zone charts,” this time showcasing the NBA’s most formidable scorers at each spot over the last 25 years. Portland Trail Blazers superstar guard Damian Lillard occupied two different spots from deep 3-point range on both the left and right side.

On Saturday, Goldsberry also confirmed that Lillard was the NBA’s most potent scorer from 34-to-36 feet away, while he shared a tie with Hawks guard Trae Young for the most points scored from that 30-to-32 foot range.

In 2020-21 alone, Lillard tied for No. 1 with Curry with 40 different 3-pointers from that 30-to-36 feet range. It introduces one of Lillard’s signature avenues of offense, where he can come off of drag screens (or double drag screens), or reject the pick-and-roll altogether, change direction, and get into his trusted pull-up long-range shot.

According to Basketball Reference’s Stathead, Lillard is also the only player with at least 100 field goals from that 30-to-36 foot area since the shot has been tracked, with 136 makes. Curry (99), Young (82), and LeBron James (38) are the only players with at least 30.

Short-term Blazers forward Trevor Ariza also made an appearance on the list, hitting more shots than any NBA player from the right corner since the 1996-97 season. The Trail Blazers as a whole have been frequent representatives on these sorts of lists. In considering offense solely from just this past decade, Portland had five different past, present, or future players own a spot.