Damian Lillard wrote his name into his franchise's record books on Monday as he surpassed Hall-of-Famer Clyde Drexler to become the Portland Trail Blazers' new all-time leading scorer.

He entered the contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder trailing by just 20 points, and he crossed that mark with a three-pointer late in the third quarter on his way to 28 points on nine-of-17 shooting.

Lillard is also the franchise leader for career points per game at 24.7, meaning he reached the 18,040 point figure in 137 fewer games than Drexler, who sported a career average of 20.8 per game.

Speaking after the game, Lillard said how despite being largely unbothered by individual accomplishments, this is one he has had his eye on.

"It's a great feeling to reach the top," he said. "It's been a goal of mine, and the list has so many players, great history of our organization, so to finally be number one is a special accomplishment that I'm proud of.

"Even during the game tonight, I wasn't playing focused on getting to the record. I was playing the game just trying to win. I knew it would happen eventually."

In a statement, Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin paid tribute to his star player.

"Damian's commitment to Portland is now incapsulated with this prestigious career milestone," he said. "His dedication, humility and hard work have been pillars for his path to this very moment.

"On behalf of the organization, we would like to congratulate Damian on this great achievement and look forward to many more."

It is one of many franchise records Lillard will likely claim by the end of his stint in Portland, already owning the record for three-pointers with 2229 – almost 1000 more than C.J. McCollum in second-place (1297) – as well as made free throws (4047).

He is also only 460 assists away from Terry Porter's franchise record (5319), and at his current career average of 6.7 per game, Lillard will reach that mark in another 69 contests.

While it was all about Lillard for Portland, the Thunder rained on his parade as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drained a game-winning buzzer-beater to cap his 35-point night, including 24 in the second half.

Gilgeous-Alexander is the league's third-leading scorer this season at 31.3 points per game, and is the current favourite for Most Improved Player.