⌕/
Damian Lillard · After missing the final 47 games of the 2021-22 season due to injury, Damian Lillard returned stronger than ever. He posted consecutive 41-point efforts in the Portland Trail Blazers’ second and third games, becoming one of just eight players to ever log multiple 40-point contests in the first three games of a season. Lillard earned his seventh All-Star and All-NBA selections, with this being his second Third Team honor. He averaged a career-best 32.2 points per game while also matching the best field-goal percentage of his 11-year career. Lillard became Portland’s all-time leading scorer on December 19, breaking a record that had stood since 1995. Dame also vaulted up the list in career 3-pointers made, ending the season ranked sixth all-time. Lillard posted three 50-point games during the season — one of only four players to do it three or more times — and now has 15 career games of 50-plus points, another category in which he ranks sixth all-time. He tallied 60 points on January 25, and Lillard’s five 60-point games are the third-most in league history. The highlight of his season was a 71-point effort on February 26, becoming the eighth player to ever score 70 in a game. The 71 was a career- and franchise-high, as were Lillard’s 13 made triples. Lillard also won the 3-Point Contest for the first time in 2023. · State of Mint