Damian Lillard

Damian Lillard
No. 0 – Portland Trail Blazers
Position Point guard
League NBA
Personal information
Born July 15, 1990
Oakland, California
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight 195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school St. Joseph Notre Dame
(Alameda, California)
Oakland (Oakland, California)
College Weber State (2008–2012)
NBA draft 2012 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Pro career 2012–present
Career history
2012–present Portland Trail Blazers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

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). Lillard is a 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) point guard from Oakland, California who played collegiately for Weber State University. After being selected by Portland with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, he won the NBA Rookie of the Year by unanimous decision. Twice he has 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] He was not heavily recruited out of high school and only regarded as a two-star prospect (out of five) by Rivals.com.[4] Lillard 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 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9] 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 statistics

Career statistics by season [10]
Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–2009 Weber State 31 29.4 .434 .374 .841 3.9 2.9 1.1 0.2 11.5
2009–2010 Weber State 31 34.3 .431 .393 .853 4.0 3.6 1.1 0.1 19.9
2010–2011 Weber State 10 28.5 .438 .345 .857 3.8 3.3 1.4 0.2 17.7
2011–2012 Weber State 32 34.5 .467 .409 .887 5.0 4.0 1.5 0.2 24.5
Career 104 32.3 .446 .390 .867 4.3 3.5 1.2 0.2 18.6

College awards and honors

NBA career

Portland Trail Blazers

2012–13 season: Rookie of the Year

Lillard attempts a jump shot over Draymond Green in January 2013

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[11] 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.

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).[12] 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).[13]

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.[14]

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.[15]

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.[16] 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.

Lillard with the Trail Blazers

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.[17] 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.[18]

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.[19]

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.[20] 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.[21] On February 8, 2015, Lillard was selected as the replacement for the injured Blake Griffin in the 2015 NBA All-Star Game.[22]

On March 4, 2015, Lillard recorded 5 points, 4 assists and a career-high 18 rebounds in a 98-93 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.[23]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Correct as of April 11, 2015

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Portland 82 82 38.6 .429 .368 .844 3.1 6.5 .9 .2 19.0
2013–14 Portland 82 82 35.8 .424 .394 .871 3.5 5.6 .8 .3 20.7
2014–15 Portland 82 82 35.7 .434 .343 .864 4.6 6.2 1.2 .3 21.0
Career 246 246 36.7 .429 .368 .861 3.8 6.1 1.0 .3 20.2
All-Star 2 0 12.5 .350 .400 .000 1.5 1.0 .5 .0 10.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014 Portland 11 11 42.4 .439 .386 .894 5.1 6.5 1.0 .1 22.9
2015 Portland 5 5 40.2 .406 .161 .781 4.0 4.6 .4 .6 21.6
Career 16 16 41.7 .428 .317 .857 4.8 5.9 .8 .3 22.5

Personal

Lillard wears the jersey number #0, representative for the letter 'O' and his journey in life; from Oakland, to Ogden, and now Oregon.[24]

He signed a new athletic shoe contract with Adidas in April 2014.[25] The deal reportedly can be extended to ten years in duration if certain incentives are met, according to a report in USA Today by veteran NBA journalist Sam Amick.[25]

Lillard is a hip-hop/rap enthusiast. 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.

Lillard's sister, LaNae, currently attends Lakeridge High School, while his brother, Houston, is an Indoor Football League quarterback.[26][27] Lillard is a Christian; he has a scripture on his left arm of Psalms 37:1-3.[28]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Damian Lillard's high school coach saw the skill and chip". MaxPreps.com. January 8, 2014. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  2. ↑ "Scout.com: 2008 Introduction: Damian Lillard". FoxSports.com. 2007-08-01. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  3. ↑ "Oakland Rebels Alumni". Oakland Rebels. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
  4. ↑ "Damian Lillard – Yahoo! Sports". Rivals.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  5. ↑ "Damian Lillard Named 2009–10 Big Sky MVP". weberstatesports.com. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  6. ↑ "Lillard gets medical redshirt; Wildcat star's junior season restored". standard.net. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  7. ↑ Associated Press (December 3, 2011). "Weber St. 91, San Jose St. 89". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  8. ↑ "Big Sky Conference – Lillard Among Cousy Final Five". .bigskyconf.com. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  9. ↑ "Big Sky Conference – Lillard Declares for NBA Draft". .bigskyconf.com. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  10. ↑ "Damian Lillard NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  11. ↑ Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard sign Trail Blazers rookie contracts
  12. ↑ Damian Lilliard Stats, Video, Bio, Profile
  13. ↑ "Damian Lillard Named Kia NBA Rookie Of The Year". Portland Trail Blazers. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
  14. ↑ Trail Blazers exercise 3rd-year options on Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard, Thomas Robinson
  15. ↑ Tokito, Mike (8 January 2014). "Damian Lillard's career high and record quarter aren't enough for Trail Blazers". oregonlive.com. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  16. ↑ NBA: Damian Lillard to make history at All-Star weekend
  17. ↑ "Lillard's 3 clinches series win for Portland - Yahoo Sports". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2014-11-11.
  18. ↑ Lillard's historic shot rings out in Portland| NBA.com
  19. ↑ Durant, LeBron headline 2013-14 All-NBA First Team
  20. ↑ Trail Blazers Exercise Option On Damian Lillard
  21. ↑ Lillard scores 43 as Blazers beat Spurs in 3 OT
  22. ↑ Lillard replaces Griffin as All-Star
  23. ↑ Batum rallies Trail Blazers past Clippers 98-93 in OT
  24. ↑ "Lillard".
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Sam Amick "Damian Lillard Lands Mammoth Shoe Deal with Adidas," USA Today, April 14, 2014.
  26. ↑ Lakeridge's LaNae Lillard, sister of Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard, making strides for Pacers
  27. ↑ Damian Lillard's Brother Didn't Make the Portland Thunder
  28. ↑ Hooped Up, July 13, 2012. Damian Lillard ‘Psalm 37′ Tattoo Retrieved April 5, 2015.

External links