Damian Lillard: From Overlooked Recruit to NBA Superstar
Damian Lillard's journey to NBA stardom is a testament to his talent, hard work, and unwavering loyalty. While he has become one of the NBA’s elite players with the Portland Trail Blazers, his path wasn't paved with offers from high-profile college basketball programs. Lillard's story showcases how immediate playing time and the opportunity to lead a team can be crucial for a player's development.
Early Life and High School Career
Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard Sr. was born on July 15, 1990, in Oakland, California, to Gina Johnson and Houston Lillard, Sr. Growing up in a neighborhood where drugs and crime were prevalent, Lillard credits the “balance of love, care, and compassion” from his family for keeping him on the right path.
Lillard's high school career involved stints at multiple schools as he sought the ideal program to hone his basketball skills. He ultimately landed at Oakland High School, where he averaged 19.4 points per game as a junior (2006-07) and 22.4 points per game as a senior. Despite his solid performance, Lillard remained a relatively unheralded recruit.
College Recruitment and Offers
As a two-star recruit in 2008, Lillard didn't receive national or state rankings. Instead, the 6-foot-1 point guard from Oakland, California, set out to make a name for himself after choosing Weber State over 11 other offers from various schools. This list included the likes of Boise State, Bradley, Fresno State, Montana, Oral Roberts, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Diego State, Santa Clara, SMU, and Wichita State.
While Wichita State, San Diego State, and Saint Mary’s were arguably the biggest programs to offer Lillard, he did have interest from Gonzaga, Utah, and Washington State, per Rivals. According to the site, though, there was no offer from those schools.
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Randy Rahe, Lillard’s coach at Weber State, said Lillard was “different” in recruiting. “He was different in the recruiting, Damian didn’t care about levels. It’s really important for him to be around people he trusted. He’s a very loyal kid,” Rahe said. “I think he made the right choice because as a freshman he was heavily counted on to be a good player so he just kept getting better. If he had gone to a Pac-12 school and had to sit a couple years he may not have progressed like he did playing for us.”
College Career at Weber State
Lillard committed to Weber State University, where he quickly made an impact. As a freshman during the 2008-09 season, he posted marks of 11.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. He 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 and led the Wildcats to the conference championship. Although his 2010-11 season was shortened due to a foot injury, he continued to improve.
Lillard wrapped up his college career by scoring 24.5 points per game with 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.5 steals. Even more impressive was the fact that he shot 46.7 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from beyond the arc. On December 3, 2011, against San Jose State, Lillard scored a college career-high 41 points, including a game-clinching three-point play to give Weber State a 91-89 double-overtime win.
He was named the Big Sky Player of the Year twice (2010, 2012) and a Third-Team All-American by the Associated Press in 2012. Lillard finished his college career as the No. 2 scorer in Weber State history (1,934 points).
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NBA Draft and Rookie Season
Lillard entered the 2012 NBA draft and was chosen as the sixth overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers. It was the first time an NBA team had drafted a player from Weber State in the first round-and just the third time someone from the Big Sky Conference went in the opening round.
Lillard had a historic debut on October 31, 2012, scoring 23 points and dishing out 11 assists as the Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers. He became the third player in history to have at least 20 points and 10 assists in his first NBA game (after Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas). Lillard continued having an outstanding rookie season, averaging 19 points and 6.5 assists while playing in all 82 games. In addition, his 185 three-pointers broke Stephen Curry’s rookie record.
Backed by such a remarkable performance, he became the fourth player in NBA history to win the Rookie of the Year vote unanimously. He also joined Oscar Robertson and Allen Iverson as the only rookies in NBA history to tally in excess of 1,500 points and 500 assists for a season.
Portland Trail Blazers Career
One of Lillard’s nicknames is “Big Game Dame,” and he has lived up to that moniker from the start. Lillard also had a strong second season (2013-14), as he averaged 20.7 points per game and helped the Trail Blazers make the postseason. In the playoffs Lillard hit a three-point shot just before the buzzer to win game six of the opening round against the Houston Rockets, clinching the series for the Blazers. It was the Portland’s first playoff series win in 14 years.
Lillard, alongside shooting guard CJ McCollum, continued to be a dominating force for Portland. In the 2016-17 season he averaged 27 points and 5.9 assists per game. Two seasons later in 2018-19, Lillard had more playoff magic, capping a 50-point performance with a 37-foot (11.3-meter) three-pointer at the buzzer to eliminate the Oklahoma City Thunder in game five of the series, 118-115. The Blazers then defeated the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals but lost the Western Conference finals to the Golden State Warriors.
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The next season (2019-20), Lillard posted career-high numbers, as he averaged 30 points and eight assists per game. He topped his scoring high in 2022-23, averaging 32.2 points per game, which was third best in the league. That season he had perhaps his best game ever, scoring 71 points in a victory over the Rockets, breaking his own Blazers record of 61 points. Portland head coach Chauncey Billups called the performance “a piece of art.”
Throughout his 11 seasons with Portland, Lillard expressed steadfast loyalty to a team that, while often good, had struggled to contend for a championship.
Milwaukee Bucks and Return to Portland
Following the 2022-23 season, Lillard asked for a trade and named the Miami Heat as his preferred team. Instead, on the eve of the 2023-24 season, the Blazers sent him to the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster three-way trade that also included the Phoenix Suns. At the time of the trade, Lillard’s 25.2 scoring average was fourth best among active players, behind Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, and LeBron James.
In Milwaukee Lillard and star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo were expected to make a formidable offensive duo. On October 26, 2023, Lillard played his first game with the Bucks, and he made history by scoring 39 points, the most by a Milwaukee player in his debut. Despite that auspicious start, he and Antetokounmpo did not play together as seamlessly as hoped, and the Bucks brought in new head coach Doc Rivers midway through the season.
Injuries affected Lillard’s second year in Milwaukee as well. In March 2025 he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf and missed the rest of the regular season. Lillard returned in the Bucks first-round playoff series, a rematch against the Pacers, only to tear his left Achilles tendon in the fourth game. He was waived by the Bucks in July, and several weeks later he signed a contract with the Trail Blazers, ending his unhappy interlude in the Midwest.
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