Who isn't obsessed with rankings?
This week, Sports Illustrated began releasing its rankings of the Top 100 NBA players and it's certainly sparked some controversy and debate.
The biggest news perhaps was the absence of New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose on the list. But even with highly respected players like Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard there has been some whining about his ranking.
Here's a tweet from the official Twitter account of the Blazers commenting on Lillard's ranking of 21st:
Sports Illustrated ranks @Dame_Lillard the 21st best player in the NBA. We think it's a typo. https://t.co/GsfY84xB5m
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) September 14, 2016
Well, 21st overall is not a bad spot for Lillard.
And it's pretty fitting considering Lillard has been overlooked his entire career. He went to college at Weber State and has been relatively flying under the radar for some time. He was snubbed of making the All-Star game this past season and made sure he used that to motivate himself to a huge second half of the year.
Lillard posted career-highs averaging 25.1 points and 6.8 assists per game this past season, forming one of the most lethal scoring backcourts in the NBA alongside C.J. McCollum. Those numbers weren't matched by many players as Lillard has risen into a class of great scoring and long-range shooting point guards with very few.
The ranking may not be what the Blazers hoped for, but it's in line with what Lillard's come to expect. Getting slighted is something he's used to and there's no doubt he'll use something like this once again for motivation.
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