Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional
basketball player for the
Portland Trail Blazers of the
National Basketball Association (NBA). He played
college basketball for the
Weber State Wildcats and earned third-team
All-American honors in 2012. After being selected by Portland with the sixth overall pick in the
2012 NBA draft, Lillard won the
NBA Rookie of the Year by unanimous decision. He has twice been named an
NBA All-Star.
High school career
During his sophomore year, Lillard transferred to
St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in
Alameda, California, a private school that produced former NBA point guard
Jason Kidd, but by year's end he looked to transfer again due to the lack of playing time. Lillard played for coach Orlando Watkins at
Oakland High School
his final two years of high school where he was first team all-league.
As a junior at Oakland, he averaged 19.4 points per game.
[1] He averaged 22.4 points and 5.2 assists per game his senior season and led Oakland to a 23-9 record.
[1] Lillard's development also grew during the summer of 2007
[2] playing for Oakland's premier
Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball program, the Oakland Rebels.
[3]
Lillard was not heavily recruited out of high school and only regarded as a two-star prospect by
Rivals.com.
[4] Lillard was ranked as the No. 48 point guard in 2008 by
ESPN.com.
[5] He would accept a scholarship offer to play for
Weber State University, a
mid-major school located in
Ogden, Utah.
College career
As a freshman, Lillard averaged 11.5 points per game and was named
conference Freshman of the Year and first-team All Big Sky; the first
Big Sky freshman to do so since
Eastern Washington's
Rodney Stuckey in 2006.
His sophomore year, Lillard raised his scoring average to 19.9 points per game and led the
Weber State Wildcats to the regular season conference championship. At the end of the season, Lillard was named the
Big Sky Player of the Year and was an honorable mention
All-American by the
Associated Press.
[6]
In
2010–11,
Lillard was again off to a good start. However, his season was cut
short after he suffered a foot injury ten games into the season and was
forced to take a medical
redshirt. Lillard led the Big Sky in scoring with 19.7 points per game before his injury sidelined him for the year.
As a redshirt junior, Lillard averaged 24.5 points and led the nation
in scoring throughout most of the year but ended up finishing second to
Oakland University's
Reggie Hamilton. On December 3, 2011, against
San Jose State,
Lillard scored a college career-high 41 points, including a
game-winning three-point play that gave Weber State a 91–89
double-overtime win.
[8]
At the end of the year, he was named to his third first-team
all-conference selection and won his second Big Sky Player of the Year
award. Lillard was also a finalist for the
Bob Cousy Award.
After his strong year, Lillard was widely regarded as the top point
guard prospect in the country and decided to forgo his senior season to
enter the
2012 NBA draft. He finished his college career as the No. 2 scorer in Weber State history (1,934 points) and the No. 5 scorer in
Big Sky history.
College awards and honors
Portland Trail Blazers (2012–present)
2012–13 season: Rookie of the Year
Lillard was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the
2012 NBA draft by the
Portland Trail Blazers. On July 13, 2012, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Trail Blazers and went on to earn co-MVP honors in the
NBA Summer League with averages of 26.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists. On October 31, 2012, in his NBA debut against the
Los Angeles Lakers, Lillard recorded 23 points and 11 assists. He joined
Oscar Robertson and
Isiah Thomas
as the only players in NBA history with at least 20 points and 10
assists in their NBA debuts. On December 16, 2012, Lillard made his
first career game winner by hitting a buzzer-beating three-pointer with
0.3 seconds remaining to give the Trail Blazers a 95–92 win over the New
Orleans Hornets.
During
NBA All-Star Weekend, he participated in the
Rising Stars Challenge and won the
Taco Bell Skills Challenge. On April 10, 2013, Lillard scored a season-high 38 points in a loss to the
Los Angeles Lakers.
Later, he was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for
games played in April and swept the Western Conference Rookie of the
Month awards for the entire 2012–2013 season.
Lillard averaged 19.0 points, 6.5 assists, and 3.1 rebounds on the year and set an NBA rookie record for
three-point field goals
made with 185. He joined Oscar Robertson and Allen Iverson as the only
rookies in NBA history to record 1,500 points and 500 assists in a
season, and became just one of two Trail Blazers to ever finish with
1,500 points and 500 assists in a season (
Clyde Drexler being the other). He was named the unanimous
Rookie of the Year and became just the fourth rookie to win the award unanimously joining
Blake Griffin (2011),
David Robinson (1990), and
Ralph Sampson (1984).
2013–14 season: First All-Star selection
On September 30, 2013, the Trail Blazers exercised their third-year
team option on Lillard's rookie scale contract, extending the contract
through the 2014–15 season.
On January 7, 2014, Lillard scored a season-high 41 points in a loss to the
Sacramento Kings, including 26 points in the fourth quarter; a franchise record for most points scored in any quarter.
Lillard was voted in by the coaches to participate in his first
All-Star Game. He became the first player in NBA history to take part in
five events during
NBA All-Star Weekend. Lillard was in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night, the Skills Challenge,
Three-Point Shootout, and
Dunk Contest on Saturday night, and the
All-Star game on Sunday night. He teamed up with
Utah Jazz guard
Trey Burke in the Skills Challenge and won first place.
Lillard averaged 20.7 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.5 rebounds on the
season and helped lead Portland to a 54-28 record. Portland finished
fifth in the western conference and would meet the
Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2014 NBA playoffs.
On April 20, 2014, in a game one victory over Houston, Lillard
recorded 31 points, 5 assists, and 1 turnover. He became the first
player in NBA history to register 30+ points with only one turnover in
their playoff debut. On May 2, 2014, in game six of the series, Lillard
hit a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to clinch the series and
send the Trail Blazers to the second round. Portland won the series
against Houston 4-2 and would make their first second-round appearance
since
2000. Lillard joined
Ralph Sampson,
Michael Jordan, and
John Stockton as the only players in NBA history to make a game-winning
buzzer beater to clinch a playoff series.
Portland would go on to lose to the eventual
champion San Antonio Spurs
in the conference semi-finals. Lillard averaged 22.9 points, 6.5
assists and 5.1 rebounds for the playoffs. On June 4, 2014, he was named
to the 2014 All-NBA third team for the first time in his career.
2014–15 season: Second All-Star selection
On September 29, 2014, the Trail Blazers exercised their fourth-year
team option on Lillard's rookie scale contract, extending the contract
through the 2015–16 season.
On December 19, 2014, Lillard scored a career-high 43 points in the
Trail Blazers' 129-119 triple overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs. On February 8, 2015, Lillard was selected as the replacement for the injured
Blake Griffin in the
2015 NBA All-Star Game. On March 4, 2015, Lillard recorded a career-high 18 rebounds in a 98-93 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Blazers finished the season with a record of 51-31, which was good
for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. They faced the
Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs where they lost the series in five games.
2015–16 season
Lillard (with the ball) playing for the Blazers in 2016.
On July 9, 2015, Lillard signed a five-year, $120 million contract extension with the Trail Blazers.
On October 28, 2015, Lillard recorded 21 points and 11 assists in a
season-opening win over the New Orleans Pelicans. His one three-pointer
made during the game was his 600th career three-point field goal, making
him the fastest NBA player in history to reach the mark at 247 games.
In addition, Lillard's 11 assists gave him 1,500 for his career, making
him the fastest Trail Blazer to reach the milestone since
Terry Porter (1987–88 season, 215 games).
In the following game on October 30 against the Phoenix Suns, Lillard
became the fastest player to reach 5,000 points and 1,500 assists (248
games) since
Derrick Rose (240 games).
On December 12, in a loss to the New York Knicks, Lillard became the first Blazer since
Clyde Drexler in 1991–92 to record 600 points and 150 assists during the team's first 25 games.
On December 21, Lillard missed the first game of his career with
plantar fasciitis in his left foot, ending his streak of playing in 275
consecutive games. Backcourt partner
C. J. McCollum also missed the game, leaving the Trail Blazers without their two leading scorers to face the
Atlanta Hawks, subsequently losing the game 106–97.
He missed a further six games with the injury, returning to action on
January 4 against the Memphis Grizzlies and recording 17 points and 7
assists in a 91–78 loss. On January 8, he scored a then season-high 40 points in a loss to the Golden State Warriors.
On January 18, in a win over the Washington Wizards, he hit his 2,000th
NBA field goal, one of only eight players to reach that mark since he
entered the league in 2012–13.
On January 26, in a win over the Sacramento Kings, Lillard recorded 15
points and 13 assists for his 10th double-double of the season, a
career-high.
On February 19, he scored a career-high 51 points in a 137–105 win over
the Golden State Warriors. He became the first player in NBA history to
have at least 50 points, seven assists and six steals since the steal
became an official statistic in 1973–74.
Two days later, he scored 30 points against the Utah Jazz, becoming the
first Blazer to score at least 30 points in four consecutive games
since
Clyde Drexler accomplished the feat in 1991. He extended that streak to five in the team's following game on February 23 against the Brooklyn Nets.
Over his first 300 games in the NBA, Lillard averaged 21.2 points and
6.2 assists per game. Only four other players in NBA history averaged 21
points and six assists over their first 300 games:
Oscar Robertson (30.2 and 10.3),
Nate Archibald (24.5 and 8.4),
LeBron James (26.7 and 6.4) and
Dwyane Wade (24.0 and 6.4). On March 4, he had his second 50-point game of the season in a 117–115 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
On March 8, Lillard had 41 points and 11 assists in a 116–109
overtime win over the Washington Wizards, recording his 15th straight
game with 20-plus points. He also had his 400th assist of the season,
making him the first Trail Blazer with 400-plus assists in each of his
first four seasons.
In the Trail Blazers' season finale on April 13 against the Denver
Nuggets, Lillard hit his 827th career three-pointer, besting
Wesley Matthews' Portland franchise record of 826. Lillard finished the regular season with an average of 25.1 points per game, while
C. J. McCollum
averaged 20.8 – making them the first backcourt in Blazers' history to
average 20 or more points apiece. Lillard also became the third Blazer
to average 25-plus points, joining Clyde Drexler and
Kiki Vandeweghe.
After defeating the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the
playoffs, the Trail Blazers moved on to face the Golden State Warriors
in the second round. In Game 3 of the series, Lillard recorded 40 points
and 10 assists to help the Trail Blazers win 120–108, cutting the
Warriors' advantage in the series to 2–1.The Trail Blazers went on to lose the series in five games.
NBA career statistics
Personal life
Lillard wears the jersey number #0, representative for the letter 'O' and his journey in life; from Oakland, to Ogden, and now
Oregon. Lillard is a Christian; he has a scripture on his left arm of Psalms 37:1-3. He completed his degree in professional sales from Weber State University in May 2015. Lillard's sister, LaNae, attended
Lakeridge High School, while his brother, Houston, is an
Indoor Football League quarterback. Lillard is a
hip-hop artist and rapper. He started a social media trend called "Four
Bar Friday" in which he, and anyone who chooses to participate, submits a video of themselves
rapping a small verse on
Instagram every Friday with the
hashtag
#4BarFriday. In July 2015, he released his first full length single,
'Soldier in the Game', via the online music streaming site
SoundCloud.
