By the literal definition of “Most Valuable Player”, Lillard may have actually finished top three for the award last season. With the other four members of his 2014-15 starting five gone and the next best player being the then-raw youngster SG C.J McCollum, Lillard willed his team to a 44-38 record, good for the number five seed out West, before upsetting the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. The point guard had his best season yet, averaging 25.1 points, 6.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per game with shooting splits of 41.9/37.5/89.2 with a PER of 22.25, while arguably being the league’s top three-point sniper not named Stephen Curry.
But alas, that’s not how the Maurice Podoloff Trophy works. As we all know by now, you have to be the best player on one of, if not the, best team in order to actually win the award, if history is any indication. Now, Lillard’s Blazers have indeed improved over the summer: himself, McCollum, and the rest of the youngsters are only getting better, and the team made a couple key additions over the summer, most notably SF/SG Evan Turner. Turner will be an excellent complement to the offensive duo of Lillard and McCollum as a nice all-around player -- averaging 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game last year with shooting splits of 45.6/24.1/82.7. However, he’s not the superstar player that Portland needs to move into the West’s upper echelon of San Antonio and the Los Angeles Clippers, much less Golden State. As all three of those teams feature superstars that are at least as individually talented as Lillard himself, even while accounting for the 26-year-old’s internal improvements, it is hard to imagine the point guard removing the word ‘candidate’ from “MVP candidate” anytime soon.
But alas, that’s not how the Maurice Podoloff Trophy works. As we all know by now, you have to be the best player on one of, if not the, best team in order to actually win the award, if history is any indication. Now, Lillard’s Blazers have indeed improved over the summer: himself, McCollum, and the rest of the youngsters are only getting better, and the team made a couple key additions over the summer, most notably SF/SG Evan Turner. Turner will be an excellent complement to the offensive duo of Lillard and McCollum as a nice all-around player -- averaging 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game last year with shooting splits of 45.6/24.1/82.7. However, he’s not the superstar player that Portland needs to move into the West’s upper echelon of San Antonio and the Los Angeles Clippers, much less Golden State. As all three of those teams feature superstars that are at least as individually talented as Lillard himself, even while accounting for the 26-year-old’s internal improvements, it is hard to imagine the point guard removing the word ‘candidate’ from “MVP candidate” anytime soon.
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