Damian Lillard

Fantasy managers who drafted Lillard last year got burned. The All-Star point guard played in just 29 games in a lost year for the Trail Blazer, who was dealing with chronic abdominal pain that clearly affected him when he played. He shot just 40.2 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three - both career lows. He underwent surgery in mid-January and never returned to the court. When it was clear Lillard wasn't returning, Portland made some major roster changes to tank the remainder of the season. The biggest move was dealing Lillard's longtime backcourt mate, CJ McCollum, to the Pelicans. Josh Hart represented the best returning player in the deal and Hart could start at small forward in 2022-23. Portland also dealt for Jerami Grant while re-signing both Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic. With McCollum out of the picture, optimistic fantasy managers could entertain the idea of Lillard walking into the highest usage rate of his career. His prior two years were excellent, averaging 29.4 points on 46/40/91 shooting, 7.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 36.6 minutes. That resulted in him ranking fifth in per-game fantasy production in 2019-20 and seventh in 2020-21. Given that the 32-year-old returned first-round value for four straight years before last, it's reasonable to draft him in the late first round. Some managers may be scared off by his injury and age, but his floor is extremely high given his skill and role within the Blazers' offense.

Lillard's All-NBA Second Team selection in 2020-21 was his fourth straight season making an All-NBA team, and he also finished seventh in MVP voting. The elite guard averaged 28.8 points, 7.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds in 35.8 minutes. He also hit 4.1 threes per game at 39.1 percent and converted 92.8 percent of his free throws. There's been plenty of buzz that Lillard may want out of Portland, with the Blazers failing to make significant progress in the quest for an NBA title. It seems unlikely the situation will reach a point where Lillard will sit out games, however, so fantasy managers shouldn't be too concerned about a potential trade request. Ultimately, wherever the 31-year-old plays, he's a threat to be one of the best players in the league and put up numbers reflecting that. He's finished inside the top-10 in total fantasy production in each of the past four seasons, and he ranked third last year. While he's probably not worth the No. 1 pick in most fantasy drafts, he's certainly a candidate to get drafted any time after that.

Lillard is coming off his strongest season, taking a leap into legitimate superstardom as a 29-year-old. He was third in the league in scoring (30.0 points per game), fifth in passing (8.0 assists) and third in threes (4.1) -- while also adding 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals. His true breakout occurred Jan. 20 in a win over the Warriors, where he posted 61 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and a steal with just two turnovers. From there on out (24 games), Lillard averaged 35.0 points, 8.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals while shooting an incredible 48.7 percent from the field, 46.0 percent from three and 90.0 percent from the free-throw line. With Jusuf Nurkic back and fully healthy for 2020-21, Lillard shouldn't have to carry quite that much weight again on a regular basis. Still, knowing he's capable of that kind of elite production puts him in obvious contention for a top-5 fantasy pick. He finished the 2019-20 season ranked fifth on a per-game basis in eight-category leagues -- his second time in the top 10 during the past three seasons.

Lillard is coming off his fourth All-NBA selection, and he posted career highs in field-goal percentage (44.4) and assists per game (6.9). Lillard has been a driving force of Portland's offense essentially since his rookie year, but things really took off once LaMarcus Aldridge left the team ahead of the 2015-16 campaign. Since then, Lillard has averaged 26.2 points, 6.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 steal. Last season, Lillard racked up six games with at least 40 points, including a 50-point outing, plus 13 games with double-digit assists. Heading into 2019-20, there have been some significant roster changes for Portland. Moving on from Moe Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu -- both of whom had been racking up minutes on the wing for four years -- the Blazers appear in line to start Kent Bazemore at small forward, while Anthony Tolliver, Zach Collins and Mario Hezonja will presumably split time at power forward. Hassan Whiteside will also start at center while Jusuf Nurkic recovers from a devastating late-season leg injury. While the moves seem lateral, the shake-up has the potential to alter Lillard's stats, though it's unlikely to be dramatic. All things considered, Lillard seems primed for another great season as one of the NBA's top guards.

Spectacular as his first four pro campaigns were, Lillard found a way to take it to another level last season, generating career-best numbers in multiple categories. The All-Star point guard posted new high-water marks in points (27.0), rebounds (4.9), shooting percentage (44.4) and free-throw percentage (89.4), while also putting up solid assist numbers (5.9). Despite the Trail Blazers’ season ending in a disappointing and unexpected four-game sweep at the hands of the Pelicans in the conference quarterfinals, expectations will be high in Portland once again for the 2018-19 season, with Lillard naturally remaining the franchise’s centerpiece. Seth Curry was added during the offseason and has a chance to serve as his primary backup at the point, but given Lillard’s iron-man reputation, he’s still likely to average minutes in the mid-30s as he has throughout his career thus far. With the same starting five expected to return, Lillard’s level of offensive responsibility – which led to 19.4 shot attempts per game last season – should also sustain.

Lillard signed a five-year, $140 million max contract extension prior to the 2016-17 campaign and while the extra security for his long term future was surely comforting, it didn't slow down his production on the court. He ended up putting together his best offensive performance over five years in the league, shooting 44 percent from the field and 37 percent from the three-point line to give him a career-high 27.0 points. That scoring total was up from 25.1 points per contest a season prior, while his overall field goal percentage increased slightly from 41 percent. In addition to the 27.0 points, Lillard added averages of 4.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.9 three-pointers across 35.9 minutes, with the boards marking a new career high and the three-pointers putting him at eighth in the league. Still, Lillard was left off the NBA All-Star roster for the second year in a row after being selected in both 2014 and 2015, while also being ousted in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors. That should only add extra motivation for what is expected to be another huge season for Lillard, who's still only 27 years old and should have his best basketball ahead of him. The Trail Blazers didn't add any big name free agents in the offseason that could threaten Lillard's offensive workload and he's going to have the green light as always to take his shots. He's still one of the top scoring point guards in the league, but his value would increase if he showed improvement in his assist totals (20th in NBA last season). Having Jusuf Nurkic for a full season and an improving C.J. McCollum back could certainly do the trick, so Lillard may have the chance to up his status as a distributor. He'll be locked in as a top-10 point guard and could crack the top-5 if he continues to add more all-around production to his already stellar scoring totals.

The Blazers were expected to be in rebuilding mode in 2015-16 following LaMarcus Aldridge’s departure for the Spurs, but Lillard and to a lesser degree, backcourt mate C.J. McCollum, ensured that wouldn’t be the case, leading the Blazers to the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Without Aldridge around to share the load, Lillard’s usage rate climbed, and that translated to career-high averages in points (25.1 per game) and assists (6.8) along with a franchise-record 229 three-pointers. Had Lillard not suffered from a case of plantar fasciitis in his left foot in late December, which sidelined him for seven games -- the first time he’d missed any games in his four-year career -- his statistical output would have been even more impressive. Perhaps the only downside of Lillard settling in as the franchise player was his decline in shooting accuracy as the season wore on, as the 26-year-old finished with a career-low 41.9 percent mark from the field. The Blazers seem content to deal with some bad shooting nights every now and then from Lillard, who proved fully capable of taking games over when his shot was falling, turning in five 40-point outings across the regular season and playoffs. Even with the Blazers bolstering their roster by adding Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli in free agency and retaining Allen Crabbe, Maurice Harkless and Meyers Leonard, Lillard isn’t expected to sacrifice many shots during the 2016-17 season, so the team’s hopes will again largely rest on his shoulders. Lillard’s tremendous production in the points, assists and three-pointers categories combined with his historical reliability on the health front should make him a worthy target in the first two rounds of most fantasy leagues.

Nary an NBA organization has endured a talent drain on the scale of the Blazers this offseason, as veteran presences LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio), Wesley Matthews (Dallas), Robin Lopez (New York), and Nicolas Batum (Charlotte) have taken their talents elsewhere, either via free agency or trade. With the preceding in tow last season, Lillard averaged 21.0 points (on 43 percent shooting), 6.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 2.4 three-pointers, and 1.2 steals in 36 minutes. Digging deeper, he offset a career-low 34-percent clip from three-point range with new-found finishing ability around the hoop, hitting 64 percent from within three feet, which helped the point guard maintain a true-shooting percentage within the norm established in his first two campaigns (56 percent overall). Becoming the focus of opposing defenses could curtail some of his efficiency, but coach Terry Stotts is apt to ride Lillard with no other established offensive force on the roster. Of utmost concern is how Lillard will mesh with upwards of 10 new teammates, most of whom boast one-dimensional games. If his scoring achieves new heights, as expected, a dip in his nightly assist offerings could very well be one of the side effects.

Damian Lillard emerged as a bonafide star in his second season in the league, averaging 20.7 points (on 42-percent shooting), 5.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in 36 minutes per game. Despite logging nearly three fewer minutes per game, the first-time All-Star increased his efficiency by improving his three-pointers made from 2.3 to 2.7, while still boosting his efficiency from beyond the arc (37 to 39 percent). Moreover, Lillard's decision-making improved in lockstep, as he posted a 2.33 AST/TO versus his rookie mark of 2.17. While it isn't necessarily reflected in his overall line, the 2012-13 Rookie of the Year leaves much to be desired on the defensive end of the court. In any case, his primary offseason aim, improving his conditioning, may actually be achieved by failing to land a roster spot on Team USA and avoiding the extra miles placed on a player in international play.

Damian Lillard – from noted basketball power Weber State – took the NBA by storm in his first season, posting averages of 19.0 points, 6.5 assists and 3.1 boards while shooting over 42 percent from the floor and 84 percent from the free-throw line. That performance earned him much-deserved Rookie of the Year honors. What can we expect from Lillard in his sophomore campaign? The Blazers are hoping for even more – and less. As impressive as he was on the offensive end last season, the word "sieve" comes up entirely too often in assessments of his defense. You can expect that to be a big offseason priority – Portland even discussed having Lillard work out with Hall-of-Famer Gary Payton – and while steals aren't an ideal measure of a basketball player's defensive prowess, it seems fair to expect his average (0.9 steals last season) to increase. On the other hand, one of the reasons Lillard put up such impressive numbers was usage – he logged a staggering 389 mpg last season – second-most in the league. The Blazers would like to reduce his workload a bit this year, which is one reason they used the 10th overall pick in the 2013 draft on C.J. McCollum and added veteran guard Mo Williams in free agency. Ideally, the efficiency that comes from a year's experience in the league will offset any loss of playing time.

Lillard was named the co-MVP of the Las Vegas Summer League after averaging an impressive 26.5 points (on 43.8 percent shooting), 5.3 dimes, and 4.0 rebounds in four contests. In the process, he dazzled the crowd with a smooth stroke from outside and an ability to finish at the rim through contact, while also excelling in the pick-and-roll. If he establishes instant chemistry with Aldridge the All-Star, Lillard’s ample minutes load and status as Portland’s unquestioned floor general could result in an interesting Rookie of the Year conversation.