It should come as no surprise that the Portland Trail Blazers are heavily featured in HoopsHype’s top 27 point guard rankings for the upcoming 2026-27 season. Headlined by the offseason addition of Ja Morant and the anticipated return of Damian Lillard, the Trail Blazers backcourt will be stacked with big names and depth this year.
The rankings, voted on by HoopsHype staff and written up by Frank Urbina, projected the top players at the position for the season ahead. While Blazers guard Scoot Henderson
was gifted bulletin board material with an omission from the list, three of his teammates made the countdown: Morant, Lillard and Jrue Holiday.
The 36-year-old Holiday was the first Blazer mentioned on the list, placing at No. 26. Urbina highlighted the veteran’s jack-of-all-trades dependability and impact in Portland.
Now 36, veteran floor general Jrue Holiday is the first of three Portland Trail Blazers point guards on this list, which leads us to believe at least one of them could be on the move, either before the season or by the trade deadline. Regardless, Holiday proved he’s got plenty left in the tank last campaign, putting up healthy averages of over 16 points and six assists per game while shooting nearly 38 percent from three.
He was also hugely impactful thanks to his scoring, creating and defending, helping lead Portland to the playoffs despite it being a tumultuous season for the organization. Holiday made the Blazers nearly 10 points per 100 possessions better during his time on the floor in 2025-26, hence why we believe he’ll remain one of the 27 best point guards in the league next season.
The next Blazer up was Morant at No. 20. As the read goes with Morant these days, Urbina noted he’s a big-time talent but his future is littered with questions.
Morant has played in just 79 games over the past three seasons, not only due to suspension, but also because of a major shoulder injury, to go with calf soreness and an elbow sprain. And considering Morant’s game is so dependant on elite athleticism while being on the slighter-of-frame-end of the spectrum, there’s legitimate concern as to how he’ll look once he’s back to playing full-time. Will Morant still be that high-flying, super-explosive finisher with the Blazers? Will injuries continue to slow him down?
Morant’s lack of three-point shooting (he’s a career 31.1 percent from three) also raises concerns, especially if he loses a step athletically.
For those reasons, Morant will be one most interesting point guards to watch in 2026-27.
Lillard was the highest-ranked Blazer on the list, coming in at No. 17. With Lillard returning from a season-long absence due to a torn Achilles, Urbina said it took belief from the HoopsHype crew to place him that high.
We’re putting a lot of faith in Damian Lillard’s rehab process here, as the future Hall-of-Famer hasn’t played since April 27, 2025, when he tore his Achilles in Game 4 of the Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round playoff matchup against the Indiana Pacers. By all accounts, Lillard’s rehab has gone well, however, so after shaking off some rust, we expect to see Lillard playing at a high level again sooner rather than later.
Will Lillard ever reach that All-NBA level again? Or even All-Star level? That remains to be seen, and history tells us it won’t be easy, as Lillard is now 36 years old. The previous oldest player to tear his Achilles, miss an entire season and then make another All-Star appearance after recovering from the injury was Anthony Mason, who was 32 at the time of his injury and 34 when he made another All-Star appearance. For comparison’s sake, Lillard was 34 when he blew out his Achilles.
… That’s all to say: It’s difficult to predict the level Lillard will play at once he does return.
Either way, as fans of the game, we’re excited to see his return, as Lillard will be playing on a strong Portland team, alongside another thrilling floor general in Morant, making the 2026-27 Blazers potential League Pass darlings.
Blazer’s Edge readers, what do you think of Portland’s representation on this list? What do you think of the rest of the rankings?
You can view the full rankings from HoopsHype here.
