PORTLAND, Ore. (August 15, 2020) – Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard has been named Kia NBA Player of the Seeding Games, it was announced today by the NBA. In addition, Lillard was a unanimous selection to the NBA All-Seeding Games First Team.
In eight seeding games, Lillard averaged 37.6 points (49.7% FG, 43.6% 3-PT, 88.8% FT), 4.3 rebounds, 9.6 assists, 1.38 steals and 41.7 minutes while leading the Trail Blazers to a 6-2 record and the eight seed in the Western Conference play-in. He was the league leader for seeding games in scoring and three-pointers made (44) while ranking second in free throws made (71) and total assists (77). In Portland’s final three seeding games, all victories, Lillard scored 51 points (Aug. 9 vs. Philadelphia), 61 points (Aug. 11 at Dallas) and 42 points (Aug. 13 at Brooklyn), completing the ninth three-game run with 154 or more points by an NBA player since the 1976-77 season.
Lillard recorded 30 points and 16 assists at Boston on Aug. 2, matching his career high for assists and logging his first of three seeding games with at least 30 points and 10 assists. On Aug. 6 at Denver, Lillard finished with 45 points (13-21 FG, 11-18 3-PT, 8-10 FT), four rebounds and 12 assists. He became the first player in NBA history with at least 45 points, 10 assists and 10 three-pointers in a game and tied his own franchise record for three-pointers in a game. Lillard’s 61-point outing against the Mavericks on Aug. 11 tied his own franchise record for points in a game and marked his third game of 60-plus points this season, a feat only accomplished by Lillard and Wilt Chamberlain. In a must-win contest at Brooklyn on Aug. 13, Lillard finished with 42 points on 13-of-22 shooting (8-14 3-PT, 8-9 FT) to go with three rebounds, 12 assists and two steals.
For the 2019-20 regular season, Lillard averaged career highs of 30.0 points (46.3% FG, 40.1% 3-PT, 88.8% FT) and 8.0 assists to go with 4.3 rebounds, 1.06 steals and 37.5 minutes in 66 games (all starts). Lillard set franchise records for scoring average (30.0 ppg) and three-pointers made (270) while his field goal percentage and three-point percentage were both career bests. Among league leaders, Lillard finished the season ranked third in scoring, fifth in assists per game, first in minutes per game, tied for third in three-pointers made, fourth in free throws made (460), 10th in free throw percentage and 26th in three-point percentage.