The NBA is stacked with point guards. It is the most loaded of all positions in the league with Super Stars like Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and Stephen Curry, often in the conversation of the top players, regardless of position, in the NBA.
When it comes to who the best crop of point guards are it would be a long debate. But there are only a handful of players who can claim as being the best value from an elite level of production perspective for very low cost in the point guard position. Goran Dragic, last season's Most Improved Player, with his $7.5 million salary and the quick and explosive Jeff Teague at $8 million are prime examples of these rare class of point guards who, for various reasons, are clearly underpaid.
The King of this crop however, is none other than the Portland Trail Blazer's point guard sensation Damian Lillard.
In his third year in the NBA last season, Damian Lillard filled the stat sheet with impressive numbers averaging 21 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds per game while converting 42.4% of his field goal attempts, 87.1% of his free throws, 39.4% of his 3-point shots, and managing just 2.4 turn overs every game. He was also the Rookie of the Year, NBA All-Star, and 2 time NBA Skills Challenge Champion and accomplished all these feats at just 23 years old - he turned 24 on June. And how much is Lillard making from the Trail Blazers? A meager $3.34 Million.
In the recent playoffs, Damian Lillard cemented his status as one of the elite point guards in the league when he was arguably the best point guard in the entire series. He was simply amazing in his very first NBA playoff action against a Houston Rocket squad that featured James Harden and Dwight Howard. And lets not forget that he was the one who drilled the game winning three point shot over Chandler Parsons with 0.6 seconds left on the clock on Game 6 to hand the Rockets a first round playoff exit. Damian Lillard is also the the first player with 125+ points, 35+ assists in his first 5 career playoff games since Tim Hardaway from April 25th-May 5th 1991 according to Portland Trailblazers PR Department.
Damian Lillard can make the case as the NBA's most clutch player in all positions and the top rising young point guard in the league. The Portland Trail Blazers are truly blessed to have Lillard under his rookie contract at just under a million total for the next couple of seasons. And so are the Phoenix Suns and Atlanta Hawks with Goran Dragic and Jeff Teague
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