Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard Sr. (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also serves as the general manager of the Weber State Wildcats men's basketball program in the Big Sky Conference. Nicknamed " Dame Time", he played college basketball for Weber State and earned third-team All-American honors in 2012. Lillard was selected by the Trail Blazers with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year for the 2012–13 season. He is a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA Team selection, and the Trail Blazers’ all-time leading scorer. As of the end of the 2024–25 season, he ranked fourth on the NBA's all-time list of three-point field goals made, with 2,804.
In 2021, Lillard won a gold medal for the U.S. Olympic team in the 2020 Summer Olympics. That same year, he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. In 2023, after a trade request, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. In his first season with Milwaukee, he was named the All-Star Game MVP and later won the NBA Cup in 2024. After suffering an Achilles injury during the 2025 playoffs, Lillard was released by the Bucks after two seasons and subsequently rejoined the Trail Blazers on a three-year deal.
Outside of basketball, Lillard is also a rapper, under the stage name Dame D.O.L.L.A.
Regarded only as a two-star prospect by Rivals.com, Lillard was not heavily recruited out of high school, but he accepted a scholarship offer to play for Weber State, a Big Sky Conference program in Ogden, Utah. According to Lillard, Weber State was the first college basketball program to show any interest in him when head coach Randy Rahe showed up in person to watch Lillard play a game in Texas during his junior year of high school. Lillard chose to attend Weber State in Utah in part because he wanted to get away from his violent Oakland neighborhood. He had received competing offers from schools including Wichita State, Saint Mary's and San Diego State.
In 2010–11, Lillard led the Big Sky in scoring with 19.7 points per contest before suffering a foot injury ten games into the season that forced him to take a medical redshirt and sidelined him for the rest of 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-clinching three-point play to give Weber State a 91–89 double-overtime win. 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.
Widely regarded as the top point guard prospect in the country, Lillard decided to skip 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.
He completed his degree in professional sales from Weber State University in May 2015.
With averages of 19.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.90 steals, and 38.6 minutes in 82 games (all starting), Lillard not only claimed the NBA Rookie of the Year Award but joined Blake Griffin (2011), David Robinson (1990), and Ralph Sampson (1984) as the only unanimous winners. 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. Lillard became the fourth Trail Blazer in franchise history to win NBA Rookie of the Year honors and one of two to ever finish a season with at least 1,500 points and 500 assists (the other being Clyde Drexler in 1986–87 and 1991–92). Among other distinctions, he broke the all-time NBA rookie record for 3-pointers in a season (185), surpassing Stephen Curry's 166 three-pointers in 2009–10; became the Portland franchise leader for most 3-point field goals in a season, breaking Damon Stoudamire's record of 181 in 2004–05; and became the first rookie to lead the NBA in total minutes played (3,167) since Elvin Hayes in 1968–69.
Lillard started all 82 games for the second straight year and averaged 20.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. Portland finished fifth in the Western Conference with a 54–28 record and faced the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2014 NBA playoffs. In Game 1 of the series, Lillard recorded 31 points and nine rebounds in his first playoff appearance to help propel Portland to a 122–120 overtime win over Houston. In Game 6 of the series, Lillard became the first player to make a buzzer-beating shot to win a playoff series since Utah's John Stockton against Houston in 1997. Lillard's 3-pointer as time expired gave Portland a 99–98 victory over Houston, as he finished with 25 points to lift the Trail Blazers to their first playoff series win since 2000.
The Trail Blazers went on to lose in five games to the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in the second round. Lillard had a series-best game in Game 4 with a 25-point effort, helping the Trail Blazers win their sole game of the series. At the season's end, Lillard was named to the All-NBA Team.
On January 5, 2015, he had a 39-point effort against the Los Angeles Lakers. On February 8, 2015, Lillard was selected as a 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 Trail Blazers finished the regular season as the fourth seed in the Western Conference with a 51–31 record. They faced the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs, where they lost in five games. Lillard shot 16 percent from three-point range during the series, hitting just 5-of-31 including going 0-of-6 in Game 1.
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. This would be the fifth of just nine losses all season for Golden State, who eventually went on to win 73 games, surpassing the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls for the winningest regular season of all-time. Two days later, Lillard scored 30 points against the Utah Jazz, becoming the first Blazer to score at least 30 points in four consecutive games since 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 Drexler and Kiki Vandeweghe. In the 2016 MVP Race, he finished 8th in total points received, scoring 26 points out of a possible 1310 points. 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.
He went on to miss five games between December 26 and January 4 after spraining his left ankle against San Antonio on December 23. On January 28 against Golden State, Lillard reached 8,000 career points, becoming the 11th Blazer to hit the mark and joined Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the only three players to reach 8,000 points and 2,000 assists in their first five seasons. On March 19, Lillard scored a season-high 49 points, tied a career high with nine three-pointers, and carried the Trail Blazers past the Miami Heat, 115–104. On April 3, 2017, he was named Western Conference Player of the Month for games played in March. Behind Lillard, the Trail Blazers went an NBA-best 13–3 in March to surge into eighth place in the Western Conference. Lillard ranked third in the NBA in scoring (29.1 ppg) and tied for fourth in three-pointers made (55) to go with 6.0 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.44 steals in 16 games. Five days later, Lillard scored a franchise-record 59 points and matched his career high with nine three-pointers to lead the Trail Blazers to a 101–86 win over the Jazz. It was Lillard's 27th game of the season with 30 or more points, a franchise high. He also became the fifth Blazer to score 2,000-plus points in a season.
After being 10 games under .500 at the All-Star break, Lillard helped the Trail Blazers to an 18–8 late-season surge to earned them the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference with a 41–41 record. They faced the Golden State Warriors for the second straight year in the playoffs, this time in the first round. Portland went on to lose the series in a clean sweep despite Lillard's 34-point effort in Game 4. For the series, Lillard averaged 27.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 43% from the field, 28% from behind the arc, and 96% from the free throw line. On May 2, 2017, he was named the recipient of the Magic Johnson Award for the 2016–17 season, which honors the player who best combines excellence on the basketball court with cooperation and dignity in dealing with the media and the public.
On February 2, he scored 32 points in a 130–105 loss to the Toronto Raptors, becoming the fastest player in franchise history to reach 10,000 points for his career. He became the eighth player to get 10,000 points and 2,500 assists in his first six seasons, joining Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Larry Bird, Nate Archibald, Pete Maravich, Dave Bing and Oscar Robertson. On February 9, in a 118–100 win over the Sacramento Kings, Lillard scored a season-high 50 points in 29 minutes—the fourth 50-point game of his career. He scored 22 points in the third quarter before sitting out the entire fourth quarter. He shot 16 of 26 from the field with eight 3-pointers to go with 10-of-10 free throws. On February 14, he had 44 points and eight assists in a 123–117 win over the Warriors. On February 24, he hit a go-ahead lay-up with 0.9 seconds left and finished with a game-high 40 points in a 106–104 win over the Suns. Nineteen of his 40 points came in the fourth quarter, as he helped the Trail Blazers rally from 15 down in the final minutes. In five games between February 9 and 24, Lillard scored 197 points—the most points for a Blazer over a five-game stretch in franchise history. Lillard averaged 31.4 points per game in February, clinching the highest-scoring average for any month in Portland history. He passed Geoff Petrie's record of 30.4 points in March 1971.
On March 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Lillard made at least one 3-pointer in his 45th straight game, setting a franchise record. With nine assists on March 15 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lillard became the third player in league history to have 1,500-plus points and 400-plus assists in each of his first six seasons. On March 20 against Houston, Lillard's franchise-record streak of 52 games with a 3-pointer ended. In the Trail Blazers' season finale on April 11, Lillard recorded 36 points and 10 assists in a 102–93 win over the Utah Jazz. The win earned the Trail Blazers the third seed in the playoffs with a 49–33 record. Lillard finished the regular season tied for fourth in scoring average in the NBA (26.9)—Drexler was the last Blazer to rank among the league's five best in scoring when he finished fourth during the 1991–92 season (25.0). For the season, he was named to the All-NBA Team, becoming the third player in franchise history to earn All-NBA First Team honors, joining Clyde Drexler (1991–92) and Bill Walton (1977–78). Additionally, he placed 4th in the 2018 MVP Race, winning 207.0 of the 1010 possible points. In Game 4 of the Trail Blazers' first-round playoff series against the Pelicans, Lillard scored 19 points in a 131–123 loss. The loss eliminated Portland from the playoffs, as they lost the series in a four-game sweep. Lillard never scored more than 20 in the series and was held below that three times.
On March 7, he scored a season-high 51 points in a 129–121 overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. On March 15, he scored 24 points in a 122–110 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, becoming the second-leading scorer in franchise history, passing LaMarcus Aldridge (12,562) to sit behind only Drexler (18,040). With 31 points and 12 assists in a double-overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets on March 25, Lillard recorded his 20th career game of at least 30 points and 10 assists, passing Drexler for the most such games in franchise history (19). On April 1, he was named Western Conference Player of the Week for the week ending March 31, marking the seventh weekly honor of his career and the first of the 2018–19 season. In April, he became the first Blazer to have 2,000 points and 500 assists in the same season, and the only Blazer besides Drexler to reach 2,000 points in two seasons with the team. He also passed his franchise record of 229 3-pointers set in the 2015–16 season and reached 1,500 for his career. Lillard placed 6th in the 2019 MVP race, receiving 69 of the 1,010 available points.
On April 23, Lillard hit a 37-foot, game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer and finished with a playoff career-high 50 points to help the Trail Blazers eliminate the Thunder from the playoffs in five games with a 118–115 victory. He had ten 3-pointers, breaking the franchise record. In Game 1 of the second round, Lillard scored 39 points in a 121–113 loss to the Denver Nuggets. In Game 6, he scored 32 points in a 119–108 win, helping the Trail Blazers tie the series against the Nuggets at 3–3. In the deciding Game 7, he scored 13 points on 3-of-17 shooting in a 100–96 win, advancing the Trail Blazers to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. In Game 2 of the conference finals, Lillard separated his ribs, but continued to play through the pain for the rest of the series—a series the Trail Blazers lost in a four-game sweep to the Kevin Durant-less Warriors.
Following the season, Lillard signed a four-year, $196 million supermax contract extension with a player option in the final season.
On June 30, 2020, Lillard was selected to be the cover athlete for NBA 2K21. In Portland’s fourth game in the Orlando bubble, upon returning from the four-month hiatus, Lillard recorded 45 points and 12 assists in a 125–115 win over the Denver Nuggets on August 6. Three days later, he would follow that up with a 51-point, 7-assist performance to lead the Trail Blazers to 124–121 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. On August 11, Lillard erupted for 61 points, tying a career high, and 8 assists en route to a 134–131 win over the Dallas Mavericks. This was his third 60-point outing of the season, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only two players in league history to have such games three times in a single season. Lillard scored an NBA-high 37.6 points and 9.6 assists in the bubble's seeding games, leading Portland to a 6–2 record. He was voted the NBA Player of the Seeding Games. He placed 8th in the 2020 season MVP race, receiving 23 of the 1,010 available points.
During Game 5 of the first round of the 2021 playoffs against the Denver Nuggets, Lillard scored a playoff career-high 55 points, behind an NBA playoff record 12 made three-pointers, as well as 10 assists. Lillard hit game-tying threes near the end of regulation and near the end of the first overtime to keep Portland alive; however, the Nuggets rallied to a 147–140 double-overtime victory to take a 3–2 series lead. In Game 6, he had 29 points and 13 assists, but the Blazers lost to Denver 126–115, sending Portland home in the First Round for the fourth time in five years.
On February 10, Blazers interim general manager Joe Cronin stated that Lillard would "most likely" not play again during the 2021–22 season. On March 21, Lillard was officially ruled out for the remainder of the season. This was the first time since Lillard's rookie season that Portland missed the playoffs, finishing the season with a 27–55 record.
After the season, Lillard signed a two-year, $122 million extension, which would keep him under contract through the 2026–27 season.
On January 12, 2023, Lillard scored a then season-high 50 points in a 119–113 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was his 15th career game with 50 or more points. He joined James Harden and Stephen Curry as the only three players over the past 10 seasons with 10 or more 50-point games. on January 23, Lillard hit his 2,283rd career three-pointer, passing Jason Terry for 7th on the NBA's all-time list in the Blazers' 147–127 against the San Antonio Spurs. In the following game on January 25, Lillard had a then season-high 60 points, hitting nine 3-pointers, along with seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals in a 134–124 win over the Utah Jazz. He became just the fifth player in NBA history to score 60 points at least four times in the regular season, joining a group that includes Wilt Chamberlain (32), Kobe Bryant (6), James Harden (4) and Michael Jordan (4). Lillard also became the first player in NBA history with three career games of at least 60/5/5 and he posted the highest true shooting percentage ever in a 60-point game (.898). Additionally, he hit his 2,291st career three-pointer, surpassing Vince Carter for 6th on the NBA's all-time list. On February 2, Lillard recorded his second career triple-double with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 125–122 win over the reigning champions Golden State Warriors. On February 18, Lillard won the Three-Point Contest. A day later, he scored the game-winning 3-pointer in the 2023 All-Star Game, giving Team Giannis their first (and only) All-Star Game victory against Team LeBron. On February 26, Lillard scored a career-high and Blazers franchise-high 71 points with a career-high and Blazers franchise-high 13 three-pointers made along with six rebounds and six assists in a 131–114 win against the Houston Rockets, becoming the eighth player in NBA history to score 70 or more in a single game. He also has 15 games with 50 or more points, sixth-most in NBA history. With his effort, Lillard became the first player in NBA history to score more than 70 points in under 40 minutes and the only player on that elite list to score 70 over the age of 30, and the first to do so with 10 or more three-pointers. On March 6, Lillard logged his third career triple-double with 31 points, a season-high 13 rebounds, and 12 assists in a 110–104 win over the Detroit Pistons.
On January 14, 2024, Lillard scored 29 points including a buzzer-beating, game-winning three-pointer and added eight assists in a 143–142 overtime win over the Sacramento Kings. He became just the fifth player in NBA history to make at least 2,500 career three-pointers. On January 20, Lillard scored a season-high 45 points with five three-pointers made, and added six rebounds and 11 assists in a 141–135 win over the Detroit Pistons. He became the first player in Bucks history to record at least 40 points, 10 assists, and five three-pointers in a game. On January 25, Lillard was named an Eastern Conference starter for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, marking his eighth selection overall and his first selection as a starter. During the All-Star Weekend, Lillard subsequently won the NBA Three-Point Contest, becoming the first back-to-back winner in over a decade. Lillard was also named the NBA All-Star Game MVP, with 39 points including 11 three-pointers. He was also the first player to win the All-Star Game MVP and the Three-Point Contest in same weekend. On March 8, in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Lillard made his 2,561st career three-pointer, passing Reggie Miller for 4th on the NBA's all-time list. On March 17, Lillard had 31 points and tied his career-high with 16 assists in a 140–129 win over the Phoenix Suns.
In Game 1 of the Bucks' First Round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, Lillard scored a franchise record 35 points in the 1st half, leading them to a 109–94 victory, setting a Bucks record for points in either half of a playoff game. Lillard missed games 4 and 5 of the series, due to an achiles injury suffered during Game 3. ESPN: Damian Lillard laments Bucks' injuries after playoff exit Milwaukee would ultimately fall to Indiana in 6 games, despite Lillard's 28-point outing in the 120–98 close-out Game 6 loss.
On April 17, shortly before the beginning of the 2025 NBA playoffs, the Bucks announced that Lillard had been cleared of the deep vein thrombosis in his right calf and that he would increase his on-court basketball activity. Five days later, Lillard made his return in Game 2 of the First Round against the Indiana Pacers, scoring 14 points in a 123–115 loss. In Game 4 of the series on April 27, Lillard suffered a non-contact left calf injury in the first quarter while attempting to secure a long rebound. He was unable to put any weight on his left leg and had to be helped off the court by head coach Doc Rivers among others. Without him for the remainder of the game, Milwaukee lost 129–103 as Indiana took a 3–1 lead, eventually winning in five games. An MRI the following day revealed that Lillard had suffered a torn Achilles tendon, ending his season, while also putting his availability for the 2025–26 season into question.
On July 6, 2025, the Bucks announced they had waived Lillard, stretching the remaining $103 million left on his deal.
In the 2020–21 season, he became a teammate of his cousin, Keljin Blevins.
On March 29, 2018, Lillard had his first child, a son named Damian Jr. They live in the affluent Portland suburb of West Linn. Lillard established a RESPECT Program to help high school kids in the Portland metro area graduate.
In 2012, Lillard signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Adidas. In 2014, Lillard negotiated a new contract with Adidas potentially worth $100 million over 10 years. Lillard has a signature shoe line with Adidas, the "Adidas Dame". In 2017, Lillard signed a sponsorship deal with Powerade, a subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Company. Lillard also has endorsement deals with Spalding, Panini Group, Foot Locker, JBL, Biofreeze and Moda Health. In 2019, Lillard also became one of a number of NBA players to sign a contract with Hulu to promote the streaming service's new campaign of adding live sports to their repertoire.
Lillard revived the Never Worry Picnic in Brookfield Park after his standout rookie season in 2013. The East Oakland event was discontinued when he was at age 12.
In 2020, Lillard, along with longtime friend and business partner Brian Sanders, became co-owner of a Toyota dealership, now known as Damian Lillard Toyota, in McMinnville, Oregon.
In January 2021, Lillard had his second and third child after his fiancée Kay'La Hanson gave birth to twins, a daughter named Kali and a son named Kalii. In September 2021, Lillard married Hanson. However, by 2024, Lillard and Hanson were divorced.
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. On October 21, 2016, Lillard released his debut album The Letter O. On October 6, 2017, Lillard released his second album Confirmed. Lillard released his third album, Big D.O.L.L.A. on August 9, 2019, featuring guests Lil Wayne, Mozzy, and Jeremih. "Damian Lillard Reveals ‘BIG D.O.L.L.A.’ Tracklist and Release Date" , OnSmash He now has his own record label, Front Page Music, which includes Brookfield Duece in its roster. Lillard's single "Kobe", which was released in September 2020 and features Snoop Dogg and Derrick Milano, is part of the soundtrack for NBA 2K21 as a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant. Lillard featured in Hong Kong boy group Mirror's single "Day 0", which was released on April 10, 2024.
+ List of studio albums, with selected chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:13em;" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:20em;" | Album details ! scope="col" colspan="3" | Peak chart positions |
+List of singles as lead artist, showing year released and album name |
+List of singles as featured artist, showing year released and album name |
+Film roles ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes | ||
2021 | Himself, Voice of Chronos |
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