I love Damian Lillard as a player and person. I think he’s the kind of athlete that most aspire to be: cool, collected, clutch, and consistent. He seems unshaken by things that make most quiver. Dame has built his reputation on being loyal to the people who have shown faith in him, from his college recruiting experience through today. Now, he’s looking for loyalty from one important person, one who holds the reins of his future.
“I want people to believe in who I am as an athlete, but also it’s more important to me that they believe in who I am,” he says. And to Lillard, that means being “a high-character person.”
People Magazine, 2022
Oakland
Damian Lillard was born in Oakland, California, on July 15, 1990. Oakland is a big part of who Dame became, as is frequently the case for those lucky enough to be from the Bay. His personality might line up with other Bay Area athletes, firebrands, forces of nature like Marshawn Lynch and Rickey Henderson. And maybe it’s fitting that he is from the same town as Dennis Eckersley, the pitcher who coined the term “walk-off” for a game-winning hit. Oakland is also the home of Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, two of the founding members of the Black Panther Party.
I’m not going to argue that Lillard is as integral to our nation’s history as those figures, but to say this: Oaklanders don’t shy away from struggle. They don’t turn tail and run. If it looks like they are, they’re only retreating to come up with a new plan of action.
Dame graduated from Oakland High School, and his number has since been retired. Lillard has given tons back to his childhood community of Brookfield, organizing athletic gear giveaways, even reviving the “Never Worry Picnic” in Brookfield park. At that picnic, kids get backpacks with school supplies, free haircuts, and over the years corporate sponsors have provided athletic gear and other kinds of gifts.
What’s a Weber State?
Randy Rahe took control of the Men’s Basketball Team at Weber State University in 2007. He held that job until 2022, when he retired under his own terms. He coached for 16 years, winning more than 300 games over his time. In 2006-07, Rahe was in the midst of coaching his way to his first NCAA tournament when he got a call from Lillard’s AAU coach. Lillard’s coach mentioned that he had a guard who wasn’t being recruited by many top schools, and that Rahe should come out and see him.
“Damian was terrible on the phone. He didn’t want to talk… He’s just quiet. He didn’t like all that stuff. So I talk to him a few times and it was ok but he didn’t like to talk much.”
Randy Rahe, Weber State University Men’s Basketball Coach
Dame was a good player, but he seemingly wasn’t connecting well with coaches. Rahe recalls getting a bit exasperated trying to determine where his head was. Finally, Rahe issued an ultimatum: Damian Lillard had to come visit Weber State or he would not be issued an invite to the team, no matter his skill.
Now, if you’re not A) a big basketball fan, or B), from Utah, you may well know nothing about Weber State University. But it is NOT close to Oakland.
Well, Dame accepted. He made his way to Ogden, Utah, and shot around for the team. He was amazing. A week later, Coach Rahe repaid the errand and made a visit to the Lillard family home. While he was preparing for the home visit, one of his assistant coaches brought to his attention – and good thing he did -Lillard likes to wear a headband when he plays. At WSU, they had a policy where no one on the team wore aesthetic accessories.
Is there utility in a headband? Yeah, but you know, coaches.
Either way, they have a good visit. Dame and his father take a recess to the back while Coach Rahe and Dame’s mother spoke. When he returned, after about a quarter of an hour, Dame had one question for Coach:
“If I come to Weber State can I wear a headband?”
Rahe hung his head for a second but stood his ground; sorry, he said, but he wasn’t going to change team policy (important context, he is coming off of an NCAA Tournament berth in his first season). He thought for a moment that he had lost this kid, but then Dame responded, revealing his aim: seeing if Coach would fold.
“I don’t care about a damn headband. I’m coming to Weber State.”
Damian Lillard, Circa Summer 2008
Dame has said he texts with Coach Rahe once a week, and still hosts the annual Weber State Alumni basketball game.
Oakland -> Ogden -> (Portland,) Oregon
After a standout senior season, the Portland Trailblazers drafted Lillard with the 6th overall pick of the 2012 NBA draft. Dame decided to don the number 0. To him, it also represented the letter “O”, a sort of angel letter that followed his life to this point. He was even introduced at home games by the Trailblazers announcers as “the letter O” in place of his number. He’d release a studio album called The Letter “O” later in his career as a rapper, as well.
He made an immediate impact. In fact, that would be a tremendous understatement. Dame won Western Conference Rookie of the Month for the entire year, becoming one of only 8 players to sweep the award since its introduction in 1980. He naturally took home Rookie of the Year honors as well.
Let’s get counting accomplishments out of the way:
- Trailblazers all-time scoring leader
- Has been on the cover of NBA 2K
- 7x All-Star
- 7x All-NBA
- One of 6 (six!) players with multiple 60+ point games. Dame has 5. More than James Harden or Michael Jordan.
- Named one of the NBA’s best 75 all-time players
- From 2013-2023, when Dame has been in the league, he is fifth in points per game. He is behind James Harden, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Steph Curry.
Dame has not only made a name for himself through those simply defined statistics, though. Lillard is also one of the best players in the clutch. Clutch is hard to define. The less intestinally-fortified players make way to expose the clutch players in those moments when things break down – when your teammates might dish the ball away, not wanting to be the center of attention when the curtain call comes. When the lights get brightest, Dame’s eyes adjust. The last minute of a game seems to last an hour to him, with the ability to sense what his team needs, and execute that the to the highest level. He is cerebral enough to know what the situation calls for, calm enough to plan it out, and skilled enough to execute.
In short, he is likely the most clutch player in our game since Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. Here’s a video from the 2021 playoffs, Dame’s best season to date, in which he led the league in clutch points*.
*Clutch points are defined as points scored in the last 5 minutes of the game when the score differential is 5 or less.
Whatever is Next
If you choose to make it, the only argument against Dame’s greatness is his lack of an NBA Championship and an MVP season. He’s the best player in Trailblazers history in my book, and I have a great deal of respect for Bill Walton.
Now, after a decade of trying to do things the hard way, with management failing him over and over again, Damian Lillard has finally exercised his leverage and asked to be traded. And, to no one’s surprise, that management is once again failing him.
Damian has been silent himself, but he is speaking through his agent. His agent is warning 28 teams about trading for Dame, saying that if they acquired him, they’d be acquiring a disgruntled player: which is good as a lit stick of dynamite in your locker room. Joe Cronin, Portland’s general manager, has taken the weak man’s approach, as he is relatively new in his role. Cronin took over as interim GM in December of 2021, and was officially given the gig in May 2022. So far, Cronin’s big moves have been:
- Re-sign Anfernee Simons to a long-term deal
- Anfernee is a good player. He does play the same position as Dame though, so is this a long term decision to gear up for when Dame is moved?
- Traded away Josh Hart and Gary Payton III to acquire Matisse Thybulle, Kevin Knox, Cam Reddish, and one extra 1st round pick
- Pretty good moves.
- Lucked into Scoot Henderson on the 3rd pick of the NBA Draft
- Matched the offer sheet for Matisse Thybulle from Dallas, retaining him for multiple years
- fair move, but overpaying for defense
- Offered a $160M/5Yr contract to a power forward that can’t rebound
- HUH?!
- Like actually WHAT?
- He’s a career 12 point per game scorer
- Twelve!
- He’s a career 12 point per game scorer
- Like actually WHAT?
- HUH?!
Take Your Medicine, Croney
Now, for just a moment, let me talk to the big guy.
Just because you’re in the big chair, don’t forget what people care about. They care about the players, not the suits. If you trade Dame where he wants, the fans will be happy, because the fans love Dame. The fans don’t share your precarious perch, and I do understand why you’d hesitate to bend to the whims of your superstar.
But have you fully considered the wrath of a fanbase that is both disheartened by the team AND the management?
You don’t want to be had. You don’t want your second full season as a GM to be a rebuild. But guess what? That’s the job. Players run the show here, not you.
Thanks Joe.
Ultimately, I do believe that the Blazers will do right by Dame and send him off to Miami to chase a ring with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. They’ll probably get a modest return, and they’ll start to build anew with Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons, definitely not repeating the mistakes of the Lillard/McCollum era.
I suspect Joe has actually come to this same conclusion. He is a logical man, after all. At least, he is when he’s not negotiating with Rich Paul, Jeremi Grant’s agent.
Anti-Standom
(Noun) Resistance to becoming overwhelmingly enamored or obsessed with a person or thing.
Anti-Standom 