Where Will Damian Lillard Finish on the NBA All-Time Scorers List?

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard currently ranks 71st on the NBA All-Time Leading Scorers List. Seemingly every other game for a while now, Lillard has overtaken a superstar of yore to carve his legacy into the annals of The Association.

Lillard’s total of 18448 career points puts him just below Mark Aguirre on the list, 10 points away from 70th position. He’s 130 points behind fellow Blazers legend Zach Randolph, 330 behind the legendary Bob McAdoo. At his current pace that’s, like, 10 games. No joke.

That begs the question, how far will Lillard get?

Here’s the page with the list of all-time scoring leaders. You’ll note Kareem Abdul Jabbar on top with 38387, but LeBron James is about to catch him, needing only 316 more points to assume the lead. LeBron will set the new total to beat, but even if he didn’t, Lillard is 19939 points behind Abdul-Jabbar. As Lillard is 32 years old, he’s not likely to make up that deficit in the career time he as left.

During the first nine seasons of his career, Lillard averaged approximately 1870 points per season. He was injured in 2021-22, notching only 695. He’s on pace for the high 1800’s this season, even having not played in 10 of Portland’s 44 games. He could break 1900 if he stays healthy.

Lillard is under contract to the Blazers through at least the Summer of 2026, possibly through 2027 if he picks up his $63.3 million player option in the final year of his contract. That’s 3-4 more years in Portland alone; it’s a good bet he plans to play at least that long.

He could go past that mark, of course. He’ll be in his mid-30’s when he becomes a free agent again, still capable of going, theoretically. On the other hand, age, injuries, and changing roles could take their toll, impeding his ability to score big.

It’s conceivable Lillard could crack the Top 20 in All-Time NBA Scoring. Vince Carter currently sits 20th with 25728 points. Top 15 would be a stretch, but if Dame keeps scoring huge, Tim Duncan at 26496—currently 16th place—isn’t completely unreachable. He might fall short as well, especially if his run ends sooner than we think.

For now, it’s still January 2023. And it’s time for you to make the call. , factor in Lillard’s stats, and register your prediction. How many points will Dame end up with and what place will that leave him in, all time? A few years from now you can search the site and look back with glee if you called it exactly!