It was telling last month that in the wake of the Trail Blazers’ season-ending loss to Golden State, Damian Lillard brought up rookie Anfernee Simons.



It had been less than an hour since the season ended, and as Lillard walked the back hallways of the Moda Center, he was asked about moments that stood out to him this season.



He first talked about the feeling of “getting over the hump” after beating Denver, when he walked off the court with his hands cradling his head, holding back emotion. Then he singled out the closeness of the team as evidenced by a February trip when the team blew a fourth-quarter lead in an afternoon game in Dallas. After the team landed that night in Oklahoma City, 10 of the players crammed into a van and went to a steakhouse and both talked about, and forgot, the bad loss.



Then, he thought long and hard. And when the next moment of the season that stood out to him came to mind, he smiled.



“Ant,”...