Damian Lillard is one of the most lethal scorers in the NBA. While other stars are taking it easy until the playoffs, Lillard has a lot to play for. His team is in a very close battle for the eighth seed. They are still behind the Memphis Grizzlies and fending off unlikely challengers in the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns. Dame has brought the heat, only losing two games up until now. The latest was a loss to the Clippers where Lillard missed clutch free-throws to help Portland win,

His revenge game came against the weakened Philadelphia 76ers, who saw Joel Embiid go down to injury. Ben Simmons had already been ruled out for the season. Dame dropped 50 points in a closely matched game to help the Blazers eke out a 124-121 win. This was his fifth 50-point game this season.

This was his 10th career 50-point game. This also means that Lillard has joined the top-10 list of players with 50-point games. He is tied for 9th with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with both men having 10. The only other active players on the list are James Harden and LeBron James.

Damian Lillard joins illustrious company

The top-10 list is littered with former MVPs and champions. It has some of the greatest players to ever play, which is a testament to what Dame has achieved in Portland. However, Dame doesn’t have any of those material achievements to his name. What he does have is a tremendous highlight reel of big shots and consistent play that makes him this great.

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The list is led by Wilt Chamberlain who had 118 50 point games, while second-placed Michael Jordan has 31. Kobe Bryant follows them with 25 and then James Harden with 23. Harden added five of these to his name just this season, which is as many as teammate Russell Westbrook has in his entire career. Elgin Baylor is fifth with 17 and Rick Barry follows him with 14. LeBron James enters the conversation in seventh with 12, narrowly beating out Allen Iverson’s 11 which has him eighth.

Dame, LeBron, and Harden all may have more 50-point games to offer, but Dame’s achievement stands different from the other two. He has done it away from the limelight as the sole leader in Portland. While that has affected a lot of other achievements, this will make his legacy undeniable.

Source: Basketball Reference