NBA History: Ranking the 15 greatest point guards of all time

15 greatest point guards in NBA History — No. 12: Damian Lillard

The question of whether Russell Westbrook or Damian Lillard should rank higher on this list is a difficult one, ultimately coming down to the criteria most important to you. Westbrook has more awards, including an MVP, and historic triple-double records that make his career unique. Lillard, on the other hand, has iconic moments of his own with a pair of walk-off playoff buzzer-beating shots, and subjectively was more of a ceiling-raiser compared to Westbrook’s floor-raising play.

Damian Lillard’s style of play and skillset lends itself to elevating the players around him and fitting in with a variety of teammates. He is one of the best pull-up shooters in NBA history, with near-Steph-Curry range, a deep bag of scoring tricks and solid passing chops.

More subjectively, Lillard was also one of the great leaders of his generation of basketball players. His teammates continually raved about him, and his work ethic and vocal leadership helped make the Trail Blazers perennially better than the sum of their parts.

Lillard, at the time of writing, is just 32 years old and his shooting should age well enough to give him a few more high-quality seasons. He is a six-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA player, and ranks ninth all-time in 3-pointers (and counting).