Against the Utah Jazz on Monday night, breakout Portland Trail Blazers rookie Damian Lillard set the new NBA record for most three-pointers made in a season by a rookie.
The rookie had previously been held by Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors. Lillard's 167th three-pointer of the season gave him the record, and he still has eight games remaining this year to add on to the new record. Prior to Curry owning the record, former Trail Blazers guard Rudy Fernandez held it.
Despite Lillard's 17 points on 7-16 shooting, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, the Blazers ultimately lost to the Jazz to the tune of 112-102. Lillard shot 3-7 from beyond the arc, sending his season total to 169 three-pointers made.
His 37.4% rate from three-point range ranks for 53rd best in the NBA. In comparison, Curry shot 43.7% from beyond the arc during his record-setting rookie campaign, and he shot nearly 100 less times from deep than Lillard has here in 2012-13.
Lillard was the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, despite a virtual consensus among analysts that he projected to be the rookie of the year in the 2012-13 NBA season. And that's exactly how things have played out in his first season, as Lillard all but locked up the rookie of the year award after just a couple of months in the NBA.
Lillard has been named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month in every month this season, with another one likely coming in the next couple of days after he had a spectacular March.
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