Positional Power Rankings: 30 best point guards in the NBA

Mar 13, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; LA Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) pushes Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) away from LA Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) during the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz won the game 114-108. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports /

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Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports /

Damian Lillard

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The Portland Trail Blazers emerged as the Golden State Warriors-lite last season when they surprisingly won 44 games and secured the West’s No. 5. At the heart of their emergence was Damian Lillard doing his best Steph Curry impression. He established a new career-high in scoring at 25.1 points per game and made it rain from deep. Portland retained most of their team and added Evan Turner into the mix this off-season, hoping to build on that progress.

This season has been a disappointment. Though they are only one game out of the No. 8 seed in the West, Portland is 33-38 and will finish with a worse record than last year. Though this is largely a result of issues in their frontcourt, Lillard deserves some of the blame. He has regressed as a facilitator and his 3-point percentage is down to 36.4. His defense is still poor, which didn’t help issues when they lacked a rim protector.

Despite some struggles, Lillard is still a bright young star in the league. He raised his scoring average again, and is turning in 26.9 points nightly. He and the Blazers have played better since the acquisition of Jusuf Nurkic, which The Ringer’s Danny Chau attributes to Nurkic’s ability as a screener. Lillard has taken a step forward as a scorer in the paint and his rap career took off this year as well. Still just 26, he will remain one of the league’s better point guards for years.

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