The NBA announced Friday that Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for April 2013, completing his clean sweep of the award.

Lillard also won Rookie of the Month honors in October/November 2012 (here), December 2012 (here), January 2013 (here), February 2013 (here) and March 2013 (here). He becomes the first Blazers player to win the award in six consecutive months and just the eighth NBA player ever to sweep the Rookie of the Month honors, joining Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.

Here's the NBA's press release.

The New York Knicks' Chris Copeland and the Portland Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard today were named the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in April.



Lillard, winner of his sixth consecutive Kia Rookie of the Month award, led all rookies in scoring (19.0 ppg), assists (6.2 apg), field goals (61) and three-pointers (19). He broke the NBA rookie record for three-pointers made in a season with 185, topping the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry's previous record of 166. Lillard became the third rookie in NBA history, joining Oscar Robertson and Allen Iverson, to record at least 1,500 points and 500 assists. On April 10 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, Lillard became the first rookie since LeBron James to record at least 38 points and nine assists in a game.



Month highlights: April 10 vs. LA Lakers: Had career highs in points with 38 and steals with three in a 113-106 loss to the Lakers.

April 14 @ Denver: Posted 30 points and had a

career-high two blocks in a 118-109 loss to the Nuggets.

April 17 vs. Golden State: Recorded 21 points and three assists in a 99-88 loss to the Warriors.

The other nominee for Western Conference Rookies of the Month was New Orleans' Anthony Davis.

Here's the Blazers' full press release.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard was named Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for April, it was announced today by the NBA. Lillard, 22, led all rookies with 19.0 points, 6.2 assists, 61 field goals and 19 3-pointers (tied) to go with 2.9 rebounds in April. With this month's award, Lillard has now earned Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors for every month this season. He becomes one of just eight players to sweep NBA Rookie of the Month honors since the inaugural award in 1981-82, joining Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. The 6-foot-3 guard joined Oscar Robertson and Allen Iverson as the only three rookies in NBA history to record at least 1,500 points and 500 assists. Lillard broke Stephen Curry's NBA rookie record for 3-pointers made in a season, finishing with 185 3-pointers on the year. He also became the first rookie to lead the NBA in total minutes played (3,167) in a season since Elvin Hayes in 1968-69. The Weber State product played in all 82 games this season, leading NBA rookies with 19.0 points and a team-high 6.5 assists to go with 3.1 rebounds in 38.6 minutes. Portland selected Lillard with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter