5 franchise records held by Damian Lillard for the Portland Trail Blazers
There has been constant speculation this summer regarding Damian Lillard's future with the Portland Trail Blazers.
The latest NBA rumors suggest that the Trail Blazers could risk losing their star point guard if they get off to a rough start in their 2021-22 regular season under new head coach Chauncey Billups.
Damian Lillard has had a legendary career with the Trail Blazers. Even if he decides to move, the six-time All-Star will leave as one of the team's greatest players ever. During his nine-season NBA career so far, Lillard has broken several franchise records with the Trail Blazers.
On that note, here's a look at five franchise records Damian Lillard currently holds for the Portland Trail Blazers.
#5 Damian Lillard has the highest free-throw percentage in Portland Trail Blazers' history
Damian Lillard is renowned for his ability to shoot the ball efficiently, impacting games massively. Lillard is quite composed when it comes to making shots during clutch time. That also allows him to be a great shooter from the foul line. He has never shot below 84% from the free-throw line in his career.
His career free-throw shooting percentage is 89.3% at the moment. It is the highest for any player in Portland Trail Blazers' history. Lillard is currently 41 free throws shy of eclipsing Clyde Drexler's record of most free throws made in Trail Blazers' history. Lillard has made 3758 free throws, while Drexler's tally stands at 3798.
#4 Damian Lillard has the most 3-point field goals in Portland Trail Blazers history
Damian Lillard is one of the best three-point shooters the NBA has ever seen. He can launch threes at ease from anywhere with immaculate accuracy. He has shot 37.5% from the three-point line on eight attempts per game in his career so far. That makes him tough to guard for opposition defenders.
Lillard has recorded 2051 career three-point field goals. It is the highest tally by a Portland Trail Blazers player. He ranks tenth on the all-time list for most three-point field goals in NBA history.
All-time 3-point leaders, and games played
Ray Allen 2973, 1300
Steph Curry 2832, 762
Reggie Miller 2560, 1389
Kyle Korver 2450, 1232
James Harden 2445, 877
Vince Carter 2290, 1541
Jason Terry 2282, 1410
Jamal Crawford 2221, 1327
Paul Pierce 2143, 1343
Damian Lillard 2051, 682 https://t.co/DOmZCwMURs
#3 Damian Lillard has the highest Player Efficiency Rating in Portland Trail Blazers' history
Damian Lillard has the highest player efficiency rating (22.4) by a Portland Trail Blazers player in the history of the franchise.
Player efficiency rating, or PER, is a number that sums up a player's performance by taking into account various stats like field goals made, three-pointers made assists, blocks, etc. Positive and negative results are also taken into account, which increases or decreases the eventual rating.
#2 Damian Lillard is the quickest player to cross 10,000 and 15,000 career points for the Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard's shooting ability has seen him notch up several high-scoring performances throughout his career. Over the last two seasons, he has averaged almost 30 points per game. Lillard's scoring has helped him become the quickest player to amass 10,000 and 15,000 career points for the Portland Trail Blazers.
He breached the 10,000-point mark in 441 games, 59 games fewer than Clyde Drexler, and the 15,000-point mark in 620 games (97 fewer than Drexler). Lillard and Drexler are the only two players to score 15,000 career points for the Trail Blazers.
An amazing accomplishment for our guy
@dame_lillard | #RipCity https://t.co/HqS7SaRoyt
#1 Damian Lillard averages the most points per game in Portland Trail Blazers' history
Shoutout to Damian Lillard on a great season
30.0 PPG
8.0 APG
4.3 RPG
• 11 4️⃣0️⃣ point games
• 6 5️⃣0️⃣ point games
• 3 6️⃣0️⃣ point games
• 270 3s in 66 games
• 37.6 PPG & 9.6 APG in the bubble
⏰ https://t.co/GHVPnoKkss
Damian Lillard has scored over 25 points per game in each of his last nine NBA seasons. Throughout his career, he averages 24.7 points per game across 682 appearances. His career PPG average is the highest among all players in Portland Trail Blazers' history.