Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) directs hsi teammates during a break in the action against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Moda Center. PMG PHOTO: JAIME VALDEZ
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) directs hsi teammates during a break in the action against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Moda Center. PMG PHOTO: JAIME VALDEZ
A piece of Portland Trail Blazers history is likely going down tonight when the Rose City squad takes on Oklahoma City at 5 p.m.
Damian Lillard sits only 21 points away from 18,041 career points, which would set the new franchise record for points scored in the black and red.
It's only fitting for Lillard, a superstar who has told everyone at every turn that he is committed to Portland, even in the bleakest of times. Lillard's loyalty has made this day inevitable since he first reached that upper echelon of NBA talent.
“He takes a lot of pride in this organization, this city, this market, these fans,” Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups told reporters. “I think that relationship is a two-way street. I just think, enjoy it. These type of players don’t come around very often. We’re all blessed and lucky to see it every night.”
Lillard of course would be taking over the record from Clyde Drexler, who scored 18,040 points while in Portland for 11.5 seasons. Drexler went on to play his last 3.5 season in Houston and finished with 22,195 points total in his career.
While Lillard has taken 11 seasons to reach the mountain top like Drexler, he's done it in significantly less games played with game No. 730 on Monday compared to Drexler's 867 in Portland.
“I’ve thought about it for years,” Lillard said. “I’ve always said I want to be the best. I want to be the guy where when they say, ‘Who was the best to come through here?’ I want people to look and say it was Dame … Being a part of one organization for this long and being able to sustain this level of success and catch a record like that means a lot to be in that position.”
The focus has been on the points, but Lillard also moved into eighth all-time in the NBA in 3-pointers made with a fourth triple against Houston on Dec. 17. He's also 147 assists away from 5,000 and the franchise record of 5,319 held by Terry Porter is certainly reachable for the 32-year-old.
The same night he moved up in the NBA 3-point ranks, he moved up in steals as well within the franchise. His second steal against the Rockets pushed him to 697 for his career and putting him sixth in franchise history.
All of that now begs the next question: Is Lillard the greatest Blazer of all time?
Being the leading scorer is certainly a strong argument. Of course, Drexler and Bill Walton have the postseason success in their favor.
But that's a debate for another day. What's important now is the man who has stuck through for Rip City and continues to put all his energy in building a winner here is reaching an incredible milestone.
There's only 30 players in NBA history who can say they are a franchise's leading scorer, an even more exclusive list than the NBA 75th Anniversary team Lillard was named to last season.
As Lillard said, he wants to be the best Blazer there ever was, and he knows more postseason success will cement that. But reaching over 18,000 points in year 11 leaves plenty of room to set the bar extremely high whenever he decides to hang it up.
Lillard admitted that he wished the franchise-setting moment could have come at home. And who knows, our print deadline is Sunday and things could have been wild in OKC.
But still, having the support of the fans means plenty to the superstar, and the fans are sure to reinforce their appreciation when Lillard and the Blazers return on Dec. 26 to play Charlotte.
I'm Pamplin Media Group's managing sports editor, overseeing our sports sections across our entire network. On top of that, I help the Portland Tribune by covering the Portland Trail Blazers and local high school sports. From Colorado, I enjoy the lack of snow in Portland and enjoy a night out perusing the next big food truck.
