Damian Lillard just had a once-in-a-lifetime game.
And he didn’t excoriate the other Trail Blazers for playing so poorly that Portland lost to the Nuggets.
That makes Lillard a pretty good teammate.
In fact, NBA players voted Lillard – whose leadership has shined for years – Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year.
A panel of league executives nominated 12 players (six from each conference), and more than 300 players voted. Full voting results with first-, second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-place votes and total voting points:
1. Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers): 40-32-47-37-42-1,012
2. Chris Paul (Suns): 47-32-48-19-10-1,001
3. Udonis Haslem (Heat): 35-39-30-32-24-893
4. Kyle Lowry (Raptors): 30-37-35-32-26-856
5. Boban Marjanovic (Mavericks): 30-34-21-23-34-746
6. Tobias Harris (76ers): 19-22-25-29-40-596
7. Malcolm Brogdon (Pacers): 25-15-16-21-34-532
8. Theo Pinson (Knicks): 22-18-21-17-20-522
9. Paul Millsap (Nuggets): 28-10-11-22-23-494
10. Joe Ingles (Jazz): 8-19-27-38-12-474
11. Joe Harris (Nets): 12-26-17-20-19-466
12. Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves): 7-19-5-13-19-286
After proving his leadership with the Thunder, Chris Paul has had an even bigger effect lifting the Suns.
Haslem is such a great tough veteran influence in the locker room, the Heat have kept re-signing him to play 260, 130, 72, 74, 44 and 3 minutes the last six seasons.
Kyle Lowry has been through so much, and he uses his experience well with the Raptors.
Bobi and Tobi bring such joy to their teams.
I’m also drawn to who finishes last on these lists, even though getting nominated is an honor in itself. Karl-Anthony Towns is growing into a veteran leader, but he’s not so far removed from his less-mature days that we can be certain they’re behind him.
