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LeBron James. Stephen Curry. Kevin Durant. All these players are known stars of the NBA. But then there are those like Blazers’ guard Damian Lillard who are stars too, but go unnoticed.  It is an utter sin how little respect Lillard gets for being one of the brightest young stars in the game today. He was recently left off of the list of candidates for the next USA Men’s National Basketball team but somehow Kenneth Faried, Rudy Gay, and Harrison Barnes all made that list. All three of these players average less than 20 points per game whereas Lillard is sixth in the league in scoring averaging 24 points per game. He also happens to average seven assists per game which is tied for eighth in the NBA. How is it possible that coaches cannot see how great of a player he is, that he does belong in the conversation as one of the best players in the US, and should be representing our country?

 The Portland Trail Blazers star also came in tenth for guards in the Western Conference in the latest all-star voting results. Lillard was behind Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Andre Iguodala, all players in which he is superior to but obviously the fans don’t seem to be noticing it either.

The stats don’t lie. Damian Lillard is one of the top players in the NBA today, but unfortunately he will have to wait for fans and coaches to open their eyes up and really appreciate what he can do on the basketball court.