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CJ McCollum is part of the star duo of the Portland Trail Blazers alongside Damian Lillard. Although McCollum isn't an All-Star like his running mate, he has shown potential to be at an extremely high level on multiple occasions.
WIth a nifty style of play featuring some of the cleanest handles and shifty footwork, CJ McCollum has developed into a legitimate offensive threat over the course of his career. Known primarily for his midrange game, McCollum also possesses a reliable shot from behind the three-point line.
Drafted by the Blazers in 2013, McCollum has truly developed his own identity as a player and has produced results for the franchise. As we celebrate his 30th birthday today, we take a look at the top five moments from his NBA career.
#5 Game-winner vs Houston Rockets: 26th December 2020
Coming off their 2020-21 season-opening loss to the Utah Jazz, CJ McCollum and the Portland Trail Blazers were set to play their second game against the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets, led by James Harden, came out firing, scoring 68 points in the first half. However, McCollum and Lillard had other plans. As Portland's duo led the charge in the second half, McCollum scored 44 points on nine made three-point shots paired with eight assists. Lillard contributed with 32 points and nine assists for the game.
As the game went into overtime, the Blazers were down by one point in the closing seconds. With 12 seconds left on the clock, Lillard drove to the basket and kicked it out to CJ McCollum on the left wing for a three-point game winner. The Blazers won 128-126.
#4 CJ McCollum goes off for 50
CJ McCollum and the Portland Trail Blazers faced the Chicago Bulls on the 31st of January, 2018. This was a historic night for CJ McCollum as he recorded a new career-high in scoring and joined an exclusive list of players while doing so.
In this game against the Bulls, McCollum recorded 50 points while shooting 72% from the field and 66.7% from beyond the arc. He was also perfect from the charity stripe.
However, what makes this even more impressive is that McCollum recorded 50 points in less than 30 minutes of playing time. Having played a total of 29:16 minutes for the game, McCollum joins elite and rare company.
The only other player to do so in the shot clock era is Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors, who scored 60 points in 29:03 minutes.
#3 CJ McCollum sends the Grizzlies home: NBA Play-in Tournament
CJ McCollum came up big for Portland in the NBA Restart. With the 2019-20 season cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA Restart saw eight games of regular-season action to determine playoff seedings.
However, Portland had to battle it out against the Memphis Grizzlies in a play-in tournament to determine who gets the eighth spot in the Western Conference.
With the finals of the play-in tournament featuring an instant death match between Portland and Memphis, McCollum helped the Trail Blazers in the final moments of the game.
Memphis led the game going into the fourth quarter. Ja Morant of the Grizzlies seemed unstoppable as he scored 35 points for the game. However, the three clutch buckets by McCollum, who scored 29 combined with 31 points by Lillard for the game, would help send the Blazers to the playoffs.
#2 McCollum leads the Blazers in a 4OT thriller vs Denver
With an intense rivalry developing between Portland and Denver, the beginnings of this were seen in the 2019 NBA Western Conference semifinals. In a historic Game 3 with four overtimes, the Blazers would outlast the Denver Nuggets, led by CJ McCollum's late-game performance.
With the series tied at 1-1 heading to Portland, the Blazers put on a show for the home crowd. McCollum recorded a game-high 41 points shooting 41% from the field and 36.4% from downtown. He also recorded eight rebounds and four assists for the game.
CJ McCollum put the Blazers on his back in the first OT, tying the game and keeping Portland's hopes alive. He would continue to push the team and score in each OT thereon, eventually coming up with a crucial rebound and assist to teammate Rodney Hood on the right wing for a game-winning three-pointer.
#1 CJ McCollum takes Portland to the Western Conference Finals
In Game 7 of the 2019 NBA Western Conference semifinals, the Blazers needed to win against the Denver Nuggets. After his late-game heroics in Game Three, CJ McCollum was primed to take the Blazers to the next stage.
In the fourth quarter of the game, although Portland was leading, the Nuggets had started cutting into the lead. A clutch chasedown block by McCollum helped stop the momentum. This was followed by a much needed bucket to pull away by a little. More late-game heroics would keep the Nuggets away as the Portland Trail Blazers won 100-96.
On a night where Damian Lillard scored only 13 points, CJ McCollum kept the Blazers in the game. Scoring 37 points with 9 rebounds in his performance, McCollum helped the Portland Trail Blazers outlast the Nuggets in Game 7.
The win was even more significant because it was the first time Portland had made a Western Conference Finals appearance since the 1999-00 season. Unfortunately, they were swept by the Golden State Warriors.
Guess the Lakers players!
