Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Lillard's showing on paper is the paltry 9.8% turnover rate he posted despite teams game planning to stop him on a nightly basis. The most efficient guard in pick and roll (1.039 PP), spot-up (1.388), and isolation off screen situations (1.324), Lillard dominates most categories in this study. Getting to the line on 18.7% of his possessions (4th) and scoring 1.176 point per-jump shot (1.176), it makes sense that Big Sky product is given the benefit of the doubt as he looks to make the giant leap in competition to the NBA level. What can we learn about Lillard's progression from unknown prolific scoring mid-major combo guard to one of the top young point guards in the NBA? We review our thoughts on him leading up to the 2012 NBA Draft and evaluate his progression as a basketball player from a strengths and weaknesses standpoint.įor comparison's sake, here's the video we produced on Lillard two years ago in the leadup to the 2012 NBA Draft:Īnd an interview we conducted with him at the 2012 NBA Combine in Chicago:ĭamian Lillard, on the other hand, looks extremely good in this analysis and ranks exceptionally across the board, finishing second in overall efficiency (1.142 PPP) despite using 21.1 possessions per-game (1st). Lillard has continued to progress in his second professional season, helping Portland to a surprising 36-17 record thus far (tied for the fifth best record in the league), while earning a selection to the NBA All-Star game. It didn't take long to realize that Lillard was a tremendous find for Portland, as he was unanimously named NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 19 points and 6.5 assists per game in his debut season. Lillard's draft stock steadily rose as the year moved on, despite question marks about his shaky assist to turnover ratio and the quality of competition he faced in the Big Sky conference, eventually being selected sixth overall by the Portland Trailblazers. Lillard emerged as one of the top players in the country, scoring over 24 points per game on stellar efficiency (62% TS%), even though his team failed to advance to the NCAA Tournament or NIT. Damian Lillard was largely an unknown prospect going into his fourth year of college basketball, as he was forced to redshirt his previous season after breaking his foot.
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