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Damian Lillard

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Damian Lillard
Lillard with the Trail Blazers
No. 0 – Portland Trail Blazers
PositionPoint guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1990-07-15) July 15, 1990 (age 34)
Oakland, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolSt. Joseph Notre Dame
(Alameda, California)
Oakland (Oakland, California)
CollegeWeber State (2008–2012)
NBA draft2012: 1st round, 6th overall pick
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012–presentPortland Trail Blazers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays 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 at Weber State University. He was selected with the sixth overall pick by Portland in the 2012 NBA draft and was unanimously named the 2012–13 NBA Rookie of the Year.

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] His development also grew during the summer of 2007[2] with his experience 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 by Rivals.com.[4] Lillard would accept the only scholarship he received from Weber State University, a mid-major school located in Ogden, UT.

College career

As a freshman, Lillard averaged 11.5 points was named conference Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference; the first Big Sky freshman to do so since Eastern Washington's Rodney Stuckey in 2006.

Lillard took his game to another level for his sophomore season. He raised his scoring average to 19.9 points per game and again led the Wildcats to the regular season conference championship. At the conclusion of the season, Lillard was named Big Sky player of the Year and 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 nine games into the season and was forced to take a medical redshirt.[6] Lillard was leading the Big Sky in scoring with 19.7 points per game before his injury sidelined him for the year.

In 2011–12, as a redshirt junior, Lillard averaged 24.5 points and led the nation in scoring through most of the season but finished second to Oakland University's Reggie Hamilton by the end of the year. On December 3, 2011, against San Jose State, Lillard scored a college career-high 41 points, including the game winning three-point play that resulted in a Weber State 91–89 double-overtime win.[7] His efforts on the year earned him his third first-team all-conference selection and his second Big Sky Player of the Year award. He was also a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award.[8]

After his phenomenal season, 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

Professional career

2012–13 season: Rookie of the Year

Lillard attempts a jump shot over Draymond Green in January 2013

Lillard was drafted in the first round with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, making him the highest selected player to ever come out of Weber State University. He was named co-MVP of the 2012 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 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, Lillard scored a then-career-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 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).[11]

2013–14 season: All-Star & All-NBA Third Team

On January 7, 2014, Lillard scored a new career-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.[12]

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.[13] 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, 9 rebounds, 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-winner at the buzzer to clinch the series and send the Portland Trail Blazers to the second round. Portland won the series against Houston 4-2 and would make their first second-round appearance since 2000.[14] 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.[15]

Portland would go on to lose to the 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.[16]

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

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
Career 164 164 37.2 .427 .381 .859 3.3 6.0 .8 .3 19.9
All-Star 1 0 9.0 .375 .500 .000 1.0 .0 .0 .0 9.0

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
Career 11 11 42.4 .439 .386 .894 5.1 6.5 1.0 .1 22.9

Personal

Lillard wears the number "0" for the letter O, representative of his journey in life; from Oakland, to Ogden, and now Oregon.[17]

He signed a new athletic shoe contract with Adidas in April 2014.[18] 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.[18]

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, submit a video of themselves rapping a small verse on Instagram with the hashtag #4BarFriday.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "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 30 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Damian Lillard – Yahoo! Sports". Rivals.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
  5. ^ "Damian Lillard Named 2009–10 Big Sky MVP". weberstatesports.com. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Lillard gets medical redshirt; Wildcat star's junior season restored". standard.net. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  7. ^ Associated Press (December 3, 2011). "Weber St. 91, San Jose St. 89". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  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 Named Kia NBA Rookie Of The Year". Portland Trail Blazers. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  12. ^ Tokito, Mike (8 January 2014). "Damian Lillard's career high and record quarter aren't enough for Trail Blazers". oregonlive.com. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  13. ^ NBA: Damian Lillard to make history at All-Star weekend
  14. ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/news/lillards-3-buzzer-leads-blazers-055056611--nba.html
  15. ^ Lillard's historic shot rings out in Portland| NBA.com
  16. ^ Durant, LeBron headline 2013-14 All-NBA First Team
  17. ^ "Lillard".
  18. ^ a b Sam Amick "Damian Lillard Lands Mammoth Shoe Deal with Adidas," USA Today, April 14, 2014.

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