NBA MVP Ladder: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant setting the league on fire

7. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

Stats: 34 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds 

Damian Lillard is picking up where he left off the last few seasons. He’s one of the best guards in the NBA and, along with C.J. McCollum, has lifted the Portland Trail Blazers to one of the bigger sleepers in the Western Conference.

However, there is still much to be desired from the Blazers. And that’s why Lillard won’t get any more consideration, than potentially a few votes, for the NBA MVP award. Maybe that’s on Lillard, who is more of a scoring point guard than most, but there’s no doubting that he’s also the biggest reason why his team is in most games.

If the Blazers can repeat last year’s regular season performance, which included them snagging the third seed in the West, don’t be surprised if Lillard’s name continues to float around MVP talk.