Damian Lillard

Did You Know?

• He raps under the stage name Dame D.O.L.L.A., which stands for Different On Levels the Lord Allows.
• Lillard revived the Never Worry Picnic in Brookfield Park after his rookie season in 2013, an event that had been discontinued when he was 12.

High school career

Lillard began his high school career at Arroyo High School in San Lorenzo, California, where he joined the varsity starting lineup as a freshman. He sought to transfer when his coach did not return, moving to St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda for his sophomore year, the same school that produced Jason Kidd. A lack of playing time prompted another transfer, this time to Oakland High School, where he played for coach Orlando Watkins. Lillard earned First Team All-League honors in both his junior and senior seasons.

As a junior, he averaged 19.4 points per game, and as a senior he averaged 22.4 points and 5.2 assists, leading the Oakland Wildcats to a 23–9 record. Rated as a two-star prospect by Rivals.com, Lillard was not heavily recruited but accepted a scholarship to Weber State after head coach Randy Rahe attended one of his games in Texas during his junior year. He chose Weber State partly to leave his violent Oakland neighborhood, turning down offers from Wichita State, Saint Mary's, and San Diego State.

College career

As a freshman at Weber State, Lillard averaged 11.5 points per game and was named Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big Sky. In his sophomore year, he raised his scoring average to 19.9 points per game, led the Wildcats to the conference championship, and was named Big Sky Player of the Year and honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press. During the 2010–11 season, Lillard led the Big Sky in scoring with 19.7 points per game before a foot injury ten games in forced him to take a medical redshirt.

As a redshirt junior, he averaged 24.5 points and finished second nationally in scoring to Reggie Hamilton. On December 3, 2011, he scored a college career-high 41 points against San Jose State, including a game-clinching three-point play in double overtime. Lillard earned his third first-team all-conference selection and second Big Sky Player of the Year award, and was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award. He skipped his senior season to enter the 2012 NBA draft, finishing as Weber State's No. 2 all-time scorer with 1,934 points and the No. 5 scorer in Big Sky history. He completed his degree in professional sales from Weber State in May 2015.

Professional career

Damian Lillard entered the NBA when the Portland Trail Blazers picked him sixth in the 2012 draft. In his first game, against the Los Angeles Lakers, he put up 23 points and 11 assists, a debut stat line only Oscar Robertson and Allen Iverson had matched before. Those 11 assists were the most by a rookie in an opener since Jason Kidd’s 1994 debut. Later that January, he dropped 37 points on the Golden State Warriors, sinking a rookie-record seven three-pointers and making 15 field goals.

At All-Star Weekend, he became the first Trail Blazer to win the Skills Challenge. Lillard swept the Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards every month, joining a select group of eight players to do so. He finished his rookie season fifth in the league in three-pointers, 12th in scoring, and led all rookies in points per game (19.0), assists (6.5), field goals, and free throws. After requesting a trade in 2023, he was sent to the Milwaukee Bucks.

In his first year there, he won the All-Star Game MVP and the NBA Cup in 2024. During the 2025 playoffs, he tore his Achilles. The Bucks released him after two seasons, and he signed a three-year deal to return to Portland.

Personal life

Lillard wears jersey number 0, representing the letter 'O' and his journey from Oakland to Ogden to Oregon. He is a Christian and has a tattoo of Psalms 37:1–3 on his left arm. His sister LaNae attended Lakeridge High School, and his brother Houston, who earned a football scholarship to Southeast Missouri State after playing at Laney College, is an Indoor Football League quarterback. During the 2020–21 season, Lillard became a teammate of his cousin Keljin Blevins.

On March 29, 2018, he had his first child, a son named Damian Jr., and they live in West Linn, Oregon. He established a RESPECT Program to help high school students in the Portland metro area graduate. Lillard signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Adidas in 2012, and in 2014 negotiated a contract potentially worth $100 million over 10 years; he has a signature shoe line, the "Adidas Dame." He also has endorsement deals with Powerade, Spalding, Panini, Foot Locker, JBL, Biofreeze, Moda Health, and Hulu.

In 2020, he became co-owner of a Toyota dealership in McMinnville, Oregon. In January 2021, his fiancée Kay'La Hanson gave birth to twins, a daughter named Kali and a son named Kalii; they married in September 2021 and divorced by 2024.