Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard sounded like a proud dad as he talked about the growth and development of the young guys on his team. The veteran point guard also revealed that expected nothing less from them every time they hit the floor, and they have so far proven that they can contribute whenever their name is called.

Time does fly by fast. Blazers fans definitely still remember Lillard swishing that series-clinching triple to eliminate the Houston Rockets in the 2014 playoffs. Dame did that as a sophomore as his veterans LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, and Wesley Matthews came over to him to celebrate his “Welcome to the NBA” moment. Now, at 30-years old, he's already one of the elder statesmen of the team.

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Without core players CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, the Blazers will need everybody to step up to keep their ship afloat in the loaded Western Conference. Lillard has certainly done a spectacular job in leading the way as the superstar of the team. But while he still carries majority of the offensive load on most nights, players such as Gary Trent Jr., Anfernee Simons, and Nassir Little have stepped up and shown encouraging signs of growth.

Trent Jr. has taken his breakout from the Orlando bubble and carried it over to the 2020-21 season, where he is averaging a career-best 15.0 points a night. Meanwhile, Simons and Little have shown that they can be regular fixtures in the rotation moving forward. Should they continue with their strong play with their increased opportunities, the Blazers could be a major problem in the West, granted that everybody is healthy and ready come playoff time.