Damian Lillard delivered his most impressive performance as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. Lillard scored 40 points while adding three rebounds, four assists, and three steals to help his team to a dominant 119-132 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

It was the highest-scoring night for Lillard so far in the 2023-24 season, but it also saw him reaching an important milestone. The veteran improved to 20,034 career points in the NBA and became just the 51st player in league history with 20,000+ points.

Lillard is now also one of eight active players with at least 20,000 points and just the fourth player ever, alongside LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and James Harden, to have at least 20,000 points, 5,000 assists, and 2,000 three-pointers.

“I don’t want to fake downplay it like it’s nothing,” Lillard said after the game. “I know it’s a big deal. It’s a great accomplishment. It’s a rare space to be in.”

Damian Lillard joined the Bucks in the offseason in a blockbuster trade from the Portland Trail Blazers. After some early growing pains, Lillard has been exceptional for Milwaukee, averaging 26.3 points, 4.5  rebounds, and 7.0 assists while helping the team to a 20-7 record.

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For years, All-Star guard Damian Lillard refused to entertain the idea of leaving the Portland Trail Blazers despite the fact that the franchise didn’t put a team around him that was good enough to contend for a title. However, it appears that Lillard has had enough of mediocrity and now wants to see if the grass is greener on the other side.

Trail Blazers’ general manager Joe Cronin issued a statement in which he confirmed that Lillard asked the franchise to trade him.

“We have been clear that we want Dame here, but he notified us today he wants out, and he’d prefer to play someplace else,” Cronin said in a statement. “What has not changed for us is that we’re committed to winning, and we are going to do what’s best for the team in pursuit of that goal.”

Lillard’s preference at the moment is reportedly to play with the Miami Heat. Portland wants to do right for Lillard, considering everything he has done for the franchise, but reportedly also wants to make sure that they get the best assets in return.

Several other teams have reached out to the Blazers, including the Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Clippers, in order to see what kind of package would be needed to land Lillard.

Damian Lillard was selected sixth overall by the Blazers in 2012. He was the Rookie of the Year for 2012-13 seasons and earned his first All-Star nod a year later. Since then, he made six more All-Star appearances while being selected to All-NBA First Team in 2018.

Lillard averaged 25.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.7 assists in his 11 years in the league. He helped the Blazers make eight playoff appearances during that time, including a Western Conference Finals run in 2019.

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The Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard scored 60 points for the fourth time in his career to lift his team to a 134-124 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. In addition to the high total, Lillard also turned heads with his efficiency, needing just 29 shots and 10 free throws to do so.

Rick Barry in 1974 is the only player to have equaled Lillard’s tally with fewer free throw attempts. As a result, Lillard posted the highest true shooting percentage (.898) ever in a 60-point game.

“That was incredible, man,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups exclaimed after Lillard’s performance. “You don’t get to see that very often, to be that efficient. For a guy to score 60 points and only 10 free throws and make nine of them, you’re thinking either this dude has an absurd amount of 3s. It was just incredible how efficient he was.”

Lillard also proved to be a highly-precise shooter from distance, scoring nine three-pointers to tie for the second-most in history in a 60-point game. The record for the most three-pointers is also held by Lillard himself.

The post Damian Lillard Makes History in 60-Point Game Against Utah appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Point guard Damian Lillard has become the Portland Trail Blazers’ all-time leading scorer, passing Clyde Drexler’s record of 18,040 points in 867 games.

Lillard scored 28 points during the Trail Blazers’ 121-123 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, thereby taking his tally to 18,048. Although disappointed to lose the game, Lillard exhibited his satisfaction with achieving this feat, receiving a standing ovation from the fans at the Paycom Center once the public address announcer informed the crowd of his achievement.

“It’s a great feeling to reach the top,” Lillard exclaimed. “It’s been a goal of mine, and the list has so many players, great history of our organization, so to finally be No. 1 is a special accomplishment that I’m proud of.”

Playing in his 730th game for the Trail Blazers at the time of his achievement, Lillard has been on the team for the entirety of his NBA career. He was selected as the sixth overall pick by the Trail Blazers in the 2012 draft.

Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin thanked Lillard for his hard work and dedication to the team, adding that he looks forward to seeing his future progress.

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The Portland Trail Blazers are doubling down on their commitment to superstar guard Damian Lillard. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Lillard and Blazers agreed to a two-year extension that is worth $122 million.

With the extension in place, Lillard is now under contract with Portland through the 2026-27 season. The last year of his deal is reportedly a player option. He is set to earn $137 million in the next three years before the extension kicks in.

Around the same time last year, it seemed that Lillard was closer to leaving the Blazers than staying in Portland. The franchise has underperformed, and there was a sense the Blazers would rather trade their star player than offer him a new contract that will pay him around $60 million when he’s 35. However, the lack of deals to be made and the risk of alienating their fan base prevailed, and the Blazers are not all-in on Lillard, for better or worse.

Damian Lillard had a testing 2021-22 season that saw him play only 29 games before being shut down with an abdominal injury. The time he did spend on the court saw him average 24.0 points, which was his lowest since 2014 while shooting a career-low 40.2 percent from the field and 32.4 percent behind the three-point line.

The Blazers went to tanking mode after Lillard’s injury and missed the playoffs, but there were several positives for the franchise. Their young guard Anfernee Simons got an opportunity to shine and develop into a valuable contributor, while Portland also got a high pick in the 2022 NBA Draft that they used to select highly-rated small forward Shaedon Sharpe.

The post Blazers Ink Superstar Damian Lillard to a 2-Year, $122 Million Extension appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Things have turned from bad to worse for the struggling Portland Trail Blazers. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Blazers superstar Damian Lillard is expected to undergo surgery that could sideline him between six and eight weeks.

Lillard aggravated an abdominal injury back in the summer while playing for Team USA and never fully recovered. The injury has been a lingering issue for the All-Star guard in the 2021-22 NBA season and caused his production to take a significant dip. After weighing his options, Lillard decided to have the procedure as he believes this will give him the best chance to return to the All-NBA form from last season.

Windhorst added in his report that the surgery date and timetable for Lillard’s return would be determined by the end of the week following further medical consultations.

If the reports turn out to be accurate, then we might not see Damian Lillard play again this season. The Trail Blazers are already in the lottery with a 16-24 record, and it’s hard to see them turning things around without Lillard. Once he returns, it will probably be too late for any postseason push, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Portland decides to shut down their best player and turn focus to 2022-23.

Lillard averaged 24.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per contest in 29 games he played this season. While these would be more than solid numbers, they are well below the bar Lillard set in recent years. He also struggled with efficiency, shooting career lows from the floor (40.2 percent) and beyond the arc (32.4 percent).

The post Blazers Superstar Damian Lillard Expected to Have Surgery appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Back in May, when NBA was still mulling its options for 2019/20 season resume, Portland Trail Blazers’ All-Star Damian Lillard said he doesn’t intend to play if he doesn’t get a fair chance to make the playoffs. Lillard ended up getting one, and now he’s using it.

On Thursday night, Lillard led the Blazers to a 125-115 win against Denver Nuggets with a spectacular performance in which he scored 45 points, packed 11 threes, and dished 12 assists. With this win, Portland inched close to last playoff spot in the West, now trailing only half of a game behind Memphis Grizzlies on No.8.

“Y’all know that I’m always optimistic and always see the best in situations like this, and it’s why I said what I said a few months ago when I said, ‘If we don’t have a chance to compete for a playoff spot, I don’t want to play,'” said Lillard after the game. “Because I knew if we did have a chance to play for a playoff spot, it would look something like it looks right now.”

After making the Western Conference Finals last season, the Trail Blazers crumbled in 2019/20 and were out of the playoff picture when NBA suspended its activities due to coronavirus pandemic. However, it wasn’t all their fault as injuries, especially that of standout big man Jusuf Nurkic, played a significant part in Portland’s decline.

But, entering the Orlando bubble, the Blazers were healthy, and it shows so far. They are 3-1 since the restart and their only loss in a tightly contested game against Boston Celtics.

“I knew that once we got here, we’d be one of the teams that would take advantage of it, and so far we have,” Lillard added.

While Blazers’ job is far from over, with San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans, and Phoenix Suns also being in the hunt for the postseason, they have a chance to determine their own destiny. And that’s exactly what Lillard wanted. 

The post Damian Lillard Scores 45 Points to Lead Blazers Past Denver appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After years of coming short, Damian Lillard managed to get the Portland Trail Blazers to the Western Conference Finals in 2018/19 NBA season. And now he is getting a reward for his effort.

According to The Athletic‘s Shams Charania, Blazers will make Lillard one of the highest paid players in the NBA by signing him to a super-max four-year extension that is worth $196 million. The agreement includes a $54.3 million player option in the last year of this extension.

Lillard’s current deal, which he signed back in 2015, runs through the 2020-21season and pays him $61 million.

Lillard comes off a tremendous regular season in which he averaged 25.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 1.1 steals and helped Portland clinch the third spot in the West. He had even better playoff run, which saw the Trail Blazers eliminate Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets en route to Western Conference Finals where they were eliminated by Golden State Warriors.

Portland Trail Blazers drafted Damian Lillard 6^th overall in 2012 NBA Draft and he immediately made his impact on the league by winning a Rookie of the Year award in his first season in NBA. Lillard became a face of the franchise following LaMarcus Aldridge’s departure in 2015 and made a name for himself as one of the best guards in the league. He also led Portland to playoffs appearance in each of the past six years.

Lillard’s career highlights include four NBA All-Star appearances and one All-NBA First Team honor.

The post Damian Lillard Agrees to a Super-Max, $196 Million Extension with the Blazers appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Damian Lillard delivered his most impressive performance as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. Lillard scored 40 points while adding three rebounds, four assists, and three steals to help his team to a dominant 119-132 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

It was the highest-scoring night for Lillard so far in the 2023-24 season, but it also saw him reaching an important milestone. The veteran improved to 20,034 career points in the NBA and became just the 51st player in league history with 20,000+ points.

Lillard is now also one of eight active players with at least 20,000 points and just the fourth player ever, alongside LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and James Harden, to have at least 20,000 points, 5,000 assists, and 2,000 three-pointers.

“I don’t want to fake downplay it like it’s nothing,” Lillard said after the game. “I know it’s a big deal. It’s a great accomplishment. It’s a rare space to be in.”

Damian Lillard joined the Bucks in the offseason in a blockbuster trade from the Portland Trail Blazers. After some early growing pains, Lillard has been exceptional for Milwaukee, averaging 26.3 points, 4.5  rebounds, and 7.0 assists while helping the team to a 20-7 record.

The post Bucks’ Damian Lillard Scores 40 in Win Over Spurs, Joins 20,000 Point Club appeared first on SportzBonanza.

For years, All-Star guard Damian Lillard refused to entertain the idea of leaving the Portland Trail Blazers despite the fact that the franchise didn’t put a team around him that was good enough to contend for a title. However, it appears that Lillard has had enough of mediocrity and now wants to see if the grass is greener on the other side.

Trail Blazers’ general manager Joe Cronin issued a statement in which he confirmed that Lillard asked the franchise to trade him.

“We have been clear that we want Dame here, but he notified us today he wants out, and he’d prefer to play someplace else,” Cronin said in a statement. “What has not changed for us is that we’re committed to winning, and we are going to do what’s best for the team in pursuit of that goal.”

Lillard’s preference at the moment is reportedly to play with the Miami Heat. Portland wants to do right for Lillard, considering everything he has done for the franchise, but reportedly also wants to make sure that they get the best assets in return.

Several other teams have reached out to the Blazers, including the Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Los Angeles Clippers, in order to see what kind of package would be needed to land Lillard.

Damian Lillard was selected sixth overall by the Blazers in 2012. He was the Rookie of the Year for 2012-13 seasons and earned his first All-Star nod a year later. Since then, he made six more All-Star appearances while being selected to All-NBA First Team in 2018.

Lillard averaged 25.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.7 assists in his 11 years in the league. He helped the Blazers make eight playoff appearances during that time, including a Western Conference Finals run in 2019.

The post Trail Blazers’ Superstar Damian Lillard Wants to Be Traded appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard scored 60 points for the fourth time in his career to lift his team to a 134-124 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. In addition to the high total, Lillard also turned heads with his efficiency, needing just 29 shots and 10 free throws to do so.

Rick Barry in 1974 is the only player to have equaled Lillard’s tally with fewer free throw attempts. As a result, Lillard posted the highest true shooting percentage (.898) ever in a 60-point game.

“That was incredible, man,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups exclaimed after Lillard’s performance. “You don’t get to see that very often, to be that efficient. For a guy to score 60 points and only 10 free throws and make nine of them, you’re thinking either this dude has an absurd amount of 3s. It was just incredible how efficient he was.”

Lillard also proved to be a highly-precise shooter from distance, scoring nine three-pointers to tie for the second-most in history in a 60-point game. The record for the most three-pointers is also held by Lillard himself.

The post Damian Lillard Makes History in 60-Point Game Against Utah appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Point guard Damian Lillard has become the Portland Trail Blazers’ all-time leading scorer, passing Clyde Drexler’s record of 18,040 points in 867 games.

Lillard scored 28 points during the Trail Blazers’ 121-123 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, thereby taking his tally to 18,048. Although disappointed to lose the game, Lillard exhibited his satisfaction with achieving this feat, receiving a standing ovation from the fans at the Paycom Center once the public address announcer informed the crowd of his achievement.

“It’s a great feeling to reach the top,” Lillard exclaimed. “It’s been a goal of mine, and the list has so many players, great history of our organization, so to finally be No. 1 is a special accomplishment that I’m proud of.”

Playing in his 730th game for the Trail Blazers at the time of his achievement, Lillard has been on the team for the entirety of his NBA career. He was selected as the sixth overall pick by the Trail Blazers in the 2012 draft.

Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin thanked Lillard for his hard work and dedication to the team, adding that he looks forward to seeing his future progress.

The post Damian Lillard Becomes Trail Blazers’ All-Time Leading Scorer appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Portland Trail Blazers are doubling down on their commitment to superstar guard Damian Lillard. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Lillard and Blazers agreed to a two-year extension that is worth $122 million.

With the extension in place, Lillard is now under contract with Portland through the 2026-27 season. The last year of his deal is reportedly a player option. He is set to earn $137 million in the next three years before the extension kicks in.

Around the same time last year, it seemed that Lillard was closer to leaving the Blazers than staying in Portland. The franchise has underperformed, and there was a sense the Blazers would rather trade their star player than offer him a new contract that will pay him around $60 million when he’s 35. However, the lack of deals to be made and the risk of alienating their fan base prevailed, and the Blazers are not all-in on Lillard, for better or worse.

Damian Lillard had a testing 2021-22 season that saw him play only 29 games before being shut down with an abdominal injury. The time he did spend on the court saw him average 24.0 points, which was his lowest since 2014 while shooting a career-low 40.2 percent from the field and 32.4 percent behind the three-point line.

The Blazers went to tanking mode after Lillard’s injury and missed the playoffs, but there were several positives for the franchise. Their young guard Anfernee Simons got an opportunity to shine and develop into a valuable contributor, while Portland also got a high pick in the 2022 NBA Draft that they used to select highly-rated small forward Shaedon Sharpe.

The post Blazers Ink Superstar Damian Lillard to a 2-Year, $122 Million Extension appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Things have turned from bad to worse for the struggling Portland Trail Blazers. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Blazers superstar Damian Lillard is expected to undergo surgery that could sideline him between six and eight weeks.

Lillard aggravated an abdominal injury back in the summer while playing for Team USA and never fully recovered. The injury has been a lingering issue for the All-Star guard in the 2021-22 NBA season and caused his production to take a significant dip. After weighing his options, Lillard decided to have the procedure as he believes this will give him the best chance to return to the All-NBA form from last season.

Windhorst added in his report that the surgery date and timetable for Lillard’s return would be determined by the end of the week following further medical consultations.

If the reports turn out to be accurate, then we might not see Damian Lillard play again this season. The Trail Blazers are already in the lottery with a 16-24 record, and it’s hard to see them turning things around without Lillard. Once he returns, it will probably be too late for any postseason push, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Portland decides to shut down their best player and turn focus to 2022-23.

Lillard averaged 24.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per contest in 29 games he played this season. While these would be more than solid numbers, they are well below the bar Lillard set in recent years. He also struggled with efficiency, shooting career lows from the floor (40.2 percent) and beyond the arc (32.4 percent).

The post Blazers Superstar Damian Lillard Expected to Have Surgery appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Back in May, when NBA was still mulling its options for 2019/20 season resume, Portland Trail Blazers’ All-Star Damian Lillard said he doesn’t intend to play if he doesn’t get a fair chance to make the playoffs. Lillard ended up getting one, and now he’s using it.

On Thursday night, Lillard led the Blazers to a 125-115 win against Denver Nuggets with a spectacular performance in which he scored 45 points, packed 11 threes, and dished 12 assists. With this win, Portland inched close to last playoff spot in the West, now trailing only half of a game behind Memphis Grizzlies on No.8.

“Y’all know that I’m always optimistic and always see the best in situations like this, and it’s why I said what I said a few months ago when I said, ‘If we don’t have a chance to compete for a playoff spot, I don’t want to play,'” said Lillard after the game. “Because I knew if we did have a chance to play for a playoff spot, it would look something like it looks right now.”

After making the Western Conference Finals last season, the Trail Blazers crumbled in 2019/20 and were out of the playoff picture when NBA suspended its activities due to coronavirus pandemic. However, it wasn’t all their fault as injuries, especially that of standout big man Jusuf Nurkic, played a significant part in Portland’s decline.

But, entering the Orlando bubble, the Blazers were healthy, and it shows so far. They are 3-1 since the restart and their only loss in a tightly contested game against Boston Celtics.

“I knew that once we got here, we’d be one of the teams that would take advantage of it, and so far we have,” Lillard added.

While Blazers’ job is far from over, with San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans, and Phoenix Suns also being in the hunt for the postseason, they have a chance to determine their own destiny. And that’s exactly what Lillard wanted. 

The post Damian Lillard Scores 45 Points to Lead Blazers Past Denver appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After years of coming short, Damian Lillard managed to get the Portland Trail Blazers to the Western Conference Finals in 2018/19 NBA season. And now he is getting a reward for his effort.

According to The Athletic‘s Shams Charania, Blazers will make Lillard one of the highest paid players in the NBA by signing him to a super-max four-year extension that is worth $196 million. The agreement includes a $54.3 million player option in the last year of this extension.

Lillard’s current deal, which he signed back in 2015, runs through the 2020-21season and pays him $61 million.

Lillard comes off a tremendous regular season in which he averaged 25.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 1.1 steals and helped Portland clinch the third spot in the West. He had even better playoff run, which saw the Trail Blazers eliminate Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets en route to Western Conference Finals where they were eliminated by Golden State Warriors.

Portland Trail Blazers drafted Damian Lillard 6^th overall in 2012 NBA Draft and he immediately made his impact on the league by winning a Rookie of the Year award in his first season in NBA. Lillard became a face of the franchise following LaMarcus Aldridge’s departure in 2015 and made a name for himself as one of the best guards in the league. He also led Portland to playoffs appearance in each of the past six years.

Lillard’s career highlights include four NBA All-Star appearances and one All-NBA First Team honor.

The post Damian Lillard Agrees to a Super-Max, $196 Million Extension with the Blazers appeared first on SportzBonanza.