10 NBA Players Who Took Huge Leaps This Season
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
It seems strange to have a player of Damian Lillard's caliber on this list, but Dame vaulted himself into elite territory this season, with several putting him in the MVP discussion.
Nothing from Lillard's base statistical profile jumps off the page compared to last year, but the fact that he was able to lead an otherwise unspectacular Portland Trail Blazers team to the 3 seed in the West is truly impressive.
| Damian Lillard | nERD | TS% | PPG | APG | PER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 10.7 | 58.60% | 27 | 5.9 | 24.1 |
| 2018 | 14.4 | 59.40% | 26.9 | 6.6 | 25.2 |
Fun Fact: After Kemba Walker led the league in points scored as a pick-and-roll ball handler for three straight seasons, Lillard took the crown this season. He averaged 12.4 points per game out of the pick and roll, and his 1.05 points per possession in the pick and roll ranked in the 94th percentile in the league.
After finishing top-five in both nERD and points per game, it is tough to discredit Lillard any longer -- this season cemented him as one of the league's premier players.
