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The All-NBA teams were finally announced and to no surprise, it featured the usual names such as Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden. However, perhaps the biggest darkhorse to make the first team was Portland Trailblazers point guard Damian Lillard.
Needless to say, fans throughout the league have taken issue with his selection. Not surprisingly, his teammate and center Jusuf Nurkic came to his defense via Twitter:
@Dame_Lillard well deserved #BaboOnTheyAss
— Jusuf Nurkić 🇧🇦 (@bosnianbeast27) May 24, 2018
Although Nrukic's response was to be expected, there is still plenty of truth to the matter. Lillard has established himself as not only one of the best point guards in the league but its best players in the 2017-18 NBA season.
He averaged 26.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 6.6 assists in 73 games. He even further solidified his nickname “Dame-Time” for his clutch heroics in the fourth quarter this season. More importantly, he managed to lead Portland to a third-place finish in the powerhouse Western Conference with a 49-33 record. Although they would have liked to have remained in the playoffs a bit longer, it was a stellar regular season nonetheless.
Perhaps the most impressive part of his selection was that he, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Indiana Pacers shooting guard Victor Oladipo were the only ones from their respective teams to garner any votes while making the cut. It goes without saying that the Trailblazers' success largely hindered on Lillard's performance on a nightly basis. That said, it is hard to deny how deserving he is of the honor.
This is the third time Lillard has been selected to the All-NBA team and the first time he was named to the first-team.
