Damian Lillard stands alone at the top of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise, as he officially surpassed Blazers icon Clyde Drexler on the franchise’s all-time scoring list during Monday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Lillard, 32, needed only 21 points to to move past Drexler, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and did so with a free throw that followed a record-tying 3-pointer from far beyond the three-point line during the third quarter of action.
“It’s a great feeling to reach the top,” Lillard said (h/t ESPN). “It’s been a goal of mine, and the list has so many players, great history of our organization, so to finally be No. 1 is a special accomplishment that I’m proud of.”
“Even during the game tonight, I wasn’t playing focused on getting to the record,” Lillard said. “I was playing the game just trying to win. I knew it would happen eventually.”
Lillard finished with 28 points on 9-for-17 shooting, including 6-of-12 from deep, to go along with 3 rebounds and 6 assists.
Drexler had 18,040 points in 867 games for the Trail Blazers from 1983-1995.
“Damian’s commitment to Portland is now incapsulated with this prestigious career milestone,” Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said in a statement. “His dedication, humility and hard work have been pillars for his path to this very moment. On behalf of the organization, we would like to congratulate Damian on this great achievement and look forward to many more.”
