6. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
Aside from being the league’s most talented rapper, Lillard has also established himself among the point guard elite. He’s still a mediocre defender, but has shown some legit growth in that respect along with his continued success on the offensive end.
Last season marked a career-high in scoring for Lillard, as he put up 27 points per game en route to a surprise playoff push late in the season. While the West has gotten substantially better since then, he provides plenty of firepower alongside C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic to make that a possibility once more.
As someone who has made himself a leader in the locker room ever since his rookie season, Lillard should continue his run as one of the West’s most explosive offensive threats. His hype has died down a bit in recently, but his game still warrants a high placement on this lest.