When Donovan Mitchell exploded for 71 points against the Chicago Bulls in January earlier this year, he probably thought no one else would match it this season.
Well, Damian Lillard did just that as he went off for 71 points against the Houston Rockets, which led to Mitchell’s mother hilariously telling him that he now needs to aim for 72!
My mom calls me and says @Dame_Lillard tied your record… you gotta get 72 now😂😂😂
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) February 27, 2023
It would be extremely difficult, but certainly not impossible. This is actually the first season ever where two players have scored 70 points in a game, and it wouldn’t be a shocker if we saw a third one. For now, though, Lillard has become just the 8th player in NBA history to hit that 70-point mark
Lillard’s big night saw him shoot 22-38 from the field, and he nearly tied Klay Thompson’s NBA record of 14 3s by going 13-22 from beyond the arc. It was a performance for the ages in what has been a spectacular season for Dame. He is averaging a career-high 32.3 PPG and is solidifying himself as one of the best scorers in recent NBA history.
Is Damian Lillard The Best Scorer In The Last 20 Years?
The NBA has been blessed to have seen some truly exceptional scorers step on the court in the last 20 years, and Lillard is one of them. This latest explosion made it 15 50-point games for Dame in his career, and in the last 20 years, only Kobe Bryant and James Harden have had more of those.
This also made it 6 60-point games for Lillard, which is more than the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant combined. With that in mind, where would Lillard rank among the greatest scorers in recent NBA history? Well, for starters, Lillard has never won the scoring title, which puts him at a major disadvantage when compared to Allen Iverson and Durant, both of whom led the league in scoring 4 times.
Harden (3), Bryant (2), Curry (2), and Russell Westbrook (2) have won multiple scoring titles too, which further dampens his case. Still, there is no denying that he deserves to have his name mentioned among those great scorers, and if he can have a strong finish to the season, he could potentially walk away with the scoring title.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
