The 50 greatest NBA players of the 2020s (so far), ranked

11) Damian Lillard

After spending the first 11 years of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers, including the first four years of the 2020s, Damian Lillard was finally traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. This after posting the three of his four best seasons of his career, averaging 30 points and 8 assists and 28.8 points and 7.5 assists in 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively, and 32.2 points and 7.3 assists in 2022-23 before joining the Bucks.

In Milwaukee, he was paired with superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. So far, things haven't gone as expected, with Lillard's production dropping off in 2023–24, though still far above-average for a star in his position. In 2023–24, at the age of 33, Lillard posted 24.3 points and 7 assists per game, making his fourth All-Star team to start the 2020s. At 34, it seems like a safe bet that he will continue to decline but perhaps not as dramatically as his first season in Milwaukee.

Instead, thanks to his elite 3-point shooting and playing alongside Giannis, he could have two or maybe even three more strong seasons left in him. With four All-Star and two All-NBA appearances in the first five seasons of the 2020s, he is deserving of 11th on this list and could possibly climb even higher by the end of the decade.