Damian Lillard was voted an NBA All-Star reserve in the toughened Western Conference on Tuesday night, the NBA announced. The nod ended Lillard’s disappointing run of All-Star snubs in recent years.
Damian Lillard made the 2018 All-Star Game. Please, NEVER SNUB HIM AGAIN
Lillard has been overlooked the last two seasons. This year, he finally got the recognition he deserves.
Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images
Dame’s been playing at a high level for a long time
Lillard won 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year and emerged onto the basketball landscape as one of the more electrifying young guards in the NBA. His numbers have improved virtually every season of his career, culminating with a magical 2016-17 season where he averaged 27 points and 5.9 assists to lead a playoff-bound Trail Blazers team. He made his first All-Star team in his second season in the NBA.
But since then, Dame’s had a rough go with All-Star voters.
Some things are outside of his control, and the competition in the West is one of them. Lillard plays in the same conference as some of the best backcourt players in the NBA, including Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. Those three have held spots in the All-Star Game each of the past three years.
In 2015, Lillard made the All-Star team, but only as an injury replacement. The following year, he averaged 25.1 points and 6.8 assists per game, but lost out on an All-Star spot to Kobe Bryant’s farewell tour, Klay Thompson, and Chris Paul, despite putting up better numbers than Thompson. This one dug deep for the Trail Blazers guard, who turned around and rapped about being an All-Star snub.
In 2017, Lillard averaged a career-high 27 points, but Curry, Westbrook, Harden, and Thompson were voted by coaches, and Gordon Hayward — who powered an amazing Jazz season — took the last slot.
Lillard did his all and was snubbed yet again.
But Damian Lillard is a snub no more
This season, Lillard is averaging 25.2 points, 6.6 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and a steal per game. His Portland Trail Blazers are seventh in the Western Conference and poised to make their fifth playoff appearance in as many years. The coaches hold the power for All-Star reserves, and they have finally voted in a point guard who has been denied his rightful status as an All-Star more often than not.
Now, Portland’s star guard can finally rest easy. Lillard is finally an All-Star again.
See More:
