Where Does Blazers Guard Damian Lillard Rank Among NBA Point Guards?

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard is eager to re-establish his name as one of the best point guards in the NBA.

The six-time All-Star played in just 29 games last season while dealing with an abdominal injury and failed to see the court during any games in the 2022 calendar year.

But CBS Sports believes Lillard is still one of the league’s best at the position despite his year on the sidelines. The publication ranked Lillard fourth out of the league’s best point guards. Here’s more of what it had to say:

Last season was a wash for Lillard, so let’s all remember how magical he was in 2020-21 when he led the league with 162 clutch points on 51-percent shooting, resulting in a plus-100 clutch point differential for the Blazers. Over Lillard’s last two full seasons he has averaged 28 and 30 points, respectively, and now the Blazers have outfitted him with a much better defensive support system.

Lillard ranked behind Memphis Grizzlies rising star Ja Morant, Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic and 4-time NBA champion Stephen Curry.

There is a lot of potential for Lillard to remain at the top of the charts for point guards this season. If Lillard can maintain a high scoring volume (and he’ll be expected to shoulder some of the load following CJ McCollum’s departure), and the Blazers can improve in the standings back towards the playoff contenders, then there’s no reason to believe Lillard will act like a top-5 point guard when the season rolls around.

BE community, what do you think? Where is Dame on your personal point guard rankings? Chime off in the comments below.