As you may have heard, the folks over at Slam Magazine are listing their Top 50 Players in the NBA this year in advance of the start of the regular season. Perhaps you've been disappointed with Slam's rankings so far, especially if you're Carmelo Anthony or one of his most ardent supporters, but if you're primary rooting interest is the Portland Trail Blazers, this year's Top 50 probably suits you just fine.
First, there's starting shooting guard and backup point guard CJ McCollum, who comes in at No. 42 on Slam's Top 50 after winning the NBA's 2016 Most Improved Player award...
Let's hope both CJ and Dame end up having longer and more fruitful careers than Arenas and Hughes, though it's not a horrible comparison, at least from an on-court perspective.
McCollum comes in at sixth among shooting guards on Slam's Top 50 and is wedged between power forwards Serge Ibaka at No. 43 and Pau Gasol at No. 42 on the overall list.
Then there's point guard Damian Lillard, who didn't make the All-Star team last year despite leading a team most thought would be one of the worst in the NBA to a playoff berth last season, though he does come in at No. 10 on Slam's Top 50...
Lillard's jump into the Top 10 comes after being ranked 28th by Slam in 2013, 17th in 2014 and 16th in 2015. Lillard is also third among point guards on this year's list, above the likes of Kyle Lowry, John Wall, Kyrie Irving and Chris Paul, who is directly behind Lillard with the 11th overall ranking. We are truly living in the Golden Age of NBA point guards.