Its been Dame Time in the Orlando bubble as the Portland Trail Blazers have surged into the playoffs with Damian Lillard leading the way. So when the NBA announced their first-ever seeding games awards, it was no surprise that Lillard was unanimously selected as Player of the Seeding Games and he also leads the All-Seeding Games Team.
Designed to honor top performers for games played July 30 – Aug. 14, the NBA Player of the Seeding Games, the NBA All-Seeding Games Team, and the NBA Coach of the Seeding Games were selected by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters who have been on site covering the 2019-20 season restart at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
Lillard averaged an NBA-high 37.6 points and 9.6 assists in the seeding games, leading Portland to a 6-2 record. The Trail Blazers won their final three seeding games, with Lillard scoring 51 points against the Philadelphia 76ers, tying his franchise scoring record with 61 points against the Dallas Mavericks, and finishing with 42 points and 12 assists in a victory over the Brooklyn Nets that clinched Portland’s spot in the Western Conference Play-In.
He received all 22 first-place votes for the NBA Player of the Seeding Games for a total of 110 points. Phoenix guard Devin Booker (58 points) and Indiana Pacers forward T.J. Warren (14 points) finished in second and third place, respectively. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
Lillard, Booker, and Warren were voted to the NBA All-Seeding Games First Team, which also includes Dallas guard Luka Dončić and Houston Rockets guard James Harden. Lillard, Booker and Dončić were named to the First Team on all 22 ballots for a total of 66 points, followed by Harden and Warren with 58 points each.
The NBA All-Seeding Games Second Team is comprised of Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, Brooklyn guard Caris LeVert, Denver Nuggets rookie forward Michael Porter Jr., and Dallas forward-center Kristaps Porzingis. Antetokounmpo led the Second Team with 36 points, including eight First Team votes.
Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams, who led the Suns to the NBA’s only unbeaten record in the seeding games and the franchise’s first eight-game winning streak since the 2009-10 season, was selected as the NBA Coach of the Seeding Games with 20 of 21 first-place votes (103 points).
The NBA previously announced the 2019-20 finalists for the NBA Performance Awards and the NBA Coach of the Year. The award winners will be revealed during the playoffs. Voting by a media panel for those awards, in addition to the All-NBA Team, NBA All-Rookie Team and NBA All-Defensive Team, was based on games played from the start of the regular season through March 11 and did not include the seeding games.