The summer of 2019 featured several high-profile transactions that created a handful of new high-profile NBA pairings. Regardless of all that free agency movement, the Trail Blazers’ duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum still rank among the league’s best tandems.
Dime Magazine’s Bill DiFilippo recently ranked the top pairings in the NBA, and Lillard-McCollum landed at No. 6 on the list. Difilippo explained that Portland’s proven track record impacted the rankings.
Every year, Lillard and McCollum do the exact same thing: Take a Portland team that probably shouldn’t be quite as good as it ends up being, and by sheer force of will, get it to the top half of the Western Conference.