Damian Lillard broke out this season as the superstar we always thought he’d be. He took his game to a whole new level and led the undermanned Portland Trail Blazers to the playoffs. And even though he couldn’t get past the eventual champions Los Angeles Lakers, he still made a huge statement to the rest of the league.
That’s the kind of thing why the Portland Trail Blazers signed him to a 5-year, $139,888,445 contract extension that will keep him tied to the organization through the 2024-25 season and during his entire prime.
That may sound like a lot of money and those kinds of deals have historically backfired to the franchises that have made them (i.e: Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, John Wall). Then again, that’s just the way the market is right now and it would be tough not to pay Lillard top dollar, considering someone else would be willing to pay what he’s due.
Lillard is set to make $43,750,000 next season, then $47,250,000 in 2022, then $50,750,000 in 2023, and finally $54,250,000 on the final year of his deal, when he’ll be almost 35 years old.
That kind of deal pretty much secures that Damian Lillard will stay with the Portland Trail Blazers organization until he decides to retire, although we’ve seen some players stay into the league further. However, given his recent history with injuries, that’s not likely the case with Dame D.O.L.L.A.
Lillard is coming off averaging a career-high 30.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game on 46/40/88 shooting splits and has turned the corner as one of the most unstoppable scoring guards to ever do it.
He’s got all it takes to go down as the greatest player in Portland Trail Blazers’ history, at least in terms of stats. Hopefully, he’ll be able to lead them back to the NBA Finals and win them a second NBA Championship.
