From 50-point games to dramatic buzzer beaters that end playoff series, Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard produced a 2019 to remember.
During his seventh season with the Blazers, Lillard averaged 25.8 points and a career-high 6.9 assists per game. That level of production finally seemed to etch his name alongside the upper-echelon of the NBA stars.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton gave Lillard his due by ranking him as the fourth-best player of 2019.
Lillard’s case for a top-four finish -- his highest ever -- begins with the series-ending dagger he drilled from 37 feet (officially) to knock out the Thunder and end an era in Oklahoma City, with the subsequent departures of George and Russell Westbrook.