Blazers' Lillard Voted Unanimous NBA Rookie of the Year

From the sixth overall pick to No. 1 with everyone: Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has been unanimously voted the Rookie of the Year in the NBA. Anyone who has seen him play at Weber State or in the pros won’t be surprised by this news, but Lillard is now in some pretty heady company.

Only three others have received undisputed accolades as the NBA Rookie of the Year: Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, and Hall of Famers David Robinson and Ralph Sampson. Not only that, he broke Steph Curry’s rookie mark for three-pointers (185) and was only the third rookie ever to reach 1,500 points and 500 assists, joining Allen Iverson and “the Big O,” Oscar Robertson (Lillard also wears the number “0” as Robertson did).

There is a statistic which might get overlooked in all the hoopla, but that could be the most telling aspect of his game: Lillard not only led all rookies in minutes played, but came second only to L.A. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant in minutes with 38.6. Partly that’s a function of how much the Blazers needed Lillard on the floor — he played all 82 games in the regular season — but also he proved he could make those minutes count.

Lillard appears to be following the same career path as Kyrie Irving, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ super sophomore. Irving was named to the NBA All-Star team this season and there’s no doubt Lillard will be, too, if he keeps up his fantastic numbers. There is some doubt whether he can do that, because he wasn’t regarded very highly coming out of college: if he was, he would have been taken higher than sixth. But Lillard did in his rookie campaign what all superstars are supposed to do: he stepped up his game and set a high standard for himself with his consistent play and his production.

It’s not like he’s perfect, though. There are areas of Lillard’s game which need work. He shot only 42.9 percent from the floor, 16th among point guards. That, of course, was a result of the number of three-point attempts he made: only Curry, Ryan Anderson and Klay Thompson launched more shots from beyond the arc than Lillard.

If he works on his inside game more and particularly driving to the key, he could remind the Rose Garden faithful of another standout from their history: Damon Stoudamire. He has a ways to go to get to that point, but no one should doubt that the 6-foot-3 22-year-old, who at one point actually considered becoming a professional wrestler, can accomplish anything he wants if he puts his mind to it.