It was the ultimate example of walking the talk. The Trail Blazers vs. the Rockets wasnt a game many had marked on their calendar, as Houston is all but eliminated with a 13-47 record thus far while Portland has flirted with a .500 record all season. On Saturday, Lillard planted seeds throughout the team that its urgency needed to rise for the seasons final 23 games, and he was intent on showing the way. I was just having a hard time, Lillard said. This season in particular has been one to remember for the future Hall of Famer, as he just broke the franchise record in single game scoring. To Lillard, the art was in the timing and what it meant for the teams playoff chances. I sensed that (from the crowd) very early, Billups said. He is a six-time NBA All-Star and a two-time All-NBA Team member. He never gave up on what appeared to be lofty NBA dreams despite being told at the second of the three high schools he attended that he should pursue something else. Those are the moments that make you., NBA 75: Damian Lillard went from milk-crate hoops to Dame Time: Im just a believer. His senior year saw him put up 22.4 points per game, and he was named First Team All-League. Current Team: Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard made his presence known immediately at Weber State. Jason Quick is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Portland Trail Blazers. No. The Daily Campus is UConn's independent, student-run newspaper. "@Dennis3DScott sat down with Dame's high school coach to discuss his rise to the top. Still, he scored 20 or more points for the 22nd consecutive appearance. Another pass led to a Thybulle 3-pointer. This past year, he received the Magic Johnson Award for demonstrating excellence on and off the court while also demonstrating respect for the media and the general public. The Trail Blazers will continue to fight despite losing one of their best players in the absence of Damian Lillard. In addition, with one win, he is one win away from becoming the first player in league history to qualify for the playoffs in each of his six seasons. All rights reserved (About Us). 2 Oakland heads home, Watkins and his star player were both left unsatisfied. Moneys one of the good ones, Watkins said. Money yes, thats his given name, and yes, theres a story may be the best player to pass through Oakland High since Damian Lillard. 1 Carondelet into Open final, Top seed Sacred Heart Prep boys upset by No. According to the team, Lillard is eager to resume his career, but there is no timetable for his return. So when I walked in the locker room, I was like, I dont even want to hold this paper up; I already know people are expecting it. In the Trail Blazers season opener, Lillard scored 41 points on 19 of 32 shooting, including four three-point shots. Big dude is a load, Watkins said. Dear Abby: Why do they imply my husband is a freak? Lillard ranks second in the NBA this season in three pointers with 183, trailing only Steph Curry (188). But on Sunday, he allowed himself to continue what had become a celebratory tradition when he set a scoring mark taking a picture holding the boxscore of his scoring achievement, with the number of the record in bold, black ink, a nod to Wilt Chamberlains famous photo when he scored 100 points in 1962. All Rights Reserved. He is shooting 45% from the field and 38% from three-point range this season, scoring a total of 27 points on the season. He made every right play, Billups said. Lillards second half was just as good as his first, as the guard did it all: getting to the free throw line, slamming it down and hitting 3-pointers from the logo. Among players who have attempted at least 2,000 three-point shots in their careers, that is the worst percentage. Before he could celebrate, before he could shower, the NBA presented him with paperwork: He was being drug tested. Lillard scored 16 in the first quarter, 25 in the second quarter, nine in the third quarter and 21 in the fourth. I was at St. [Josephs Notre Dame High School] my sophomore year and at the end of the first marking period I was ineligible for a little bit. Jerami Grant scored 27 points for Portland that night, while Zion Williamson scored 29 for the Pelicans. Lillard scored 60 points on Jan. 25 during a victory over Utah. His ridiculous range from the logo has players around the league trying to step up their game. After being selected sixth overall in the 2012 NBA draft, the Trail Blazers selected Lillard in the first round of his NBA career. Following a freshman season in which he led the conference in scoring, he was named Big Sky Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Big Sky. When it was all said and done, the Portland star had 71 points, tied with Donovan Mitchell for the most in the league this season, and his 13 made 3-pointers that night were one short of the NBA record that Golden States Klay Thompson set. Lillard scored a career-high 71 points to lead the Blazers to an 131-114 victory at the Moda Center. Really? The improvisation amid a charging defense. 6-keys: media/spln/nba/reg/free/stories, By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the. A piece of art.. Instagram: Bulls vs. Pistons odds, picks, prediction, bets, Knicks vs. Nets odds, picks, prediction, bets, Hawks have a Trae Young problem, Quin Snyder must fix, Nikola Jokic becomes 6th player with 100 triple-doubles, Bucks get 15th straight win, complete perfect February, Kobe's widow to receive $28M after crash photos lawsuit. save for a section behind Lillard full of school-age children from a local church Kidd starred in his sophomore year of high school at St. Joseph Notre Dame in Alameda, California, and Lillard did the same. Despite a recent injury that limited him for much of last season, Portlands star guard appears to be in good shape heading into this season. A lot of the things I am going to be interested in when Im done playing, Im going to need a college degree for those things. Damian Lillard High School Career. Even when Im on the 580 freeway in the summer and drive past here, I always drive and look over, Lillard said. From then on, I was like, What do I need to do? . You couldnt tell me it wasnt going to happen.. He is a scoring machine who always helps his team win. Lillard also recalled a shooting that took place during his game at a rival high school. For me, its the beauty in it for where we are as a team, for one, Lillard said. NBA: Whose NBA All-Star Game debut performance promises a future All-Star MVP? But as his Oakland High School coach Orlando Watkins recently told NBA on TNT, Lillard launching long-distance shots at the end of games is nothing new. He recalled some of the challenges attending the very diverse Oakland public high school and playing basketball against local schools with tough backgrounds. Born: Jul 15, 1990 (32 years old) Birthplace/Hometown: Oakland, California. Sunday was the Blazers first home game since the All-Star break, so the team planned to honor Lillard before the national anthem for winning the 3-point shooting contest at All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City. Lillard didnt do much in his first two seasons, so he transferred to Oakland High. Having 41 at the half was insane, Billups told reporters. He just wasnt forcing at all, Billups said. -- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook). Damian Lillard is not in the Hall of Fame. Dame is not Top 75 for no reason an honor like that, sometimes you have to poke your chest out and show it not just talk about it and thats what he is all about.. And then, aside from that, they know that Im scared of needles.. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. In what may come as a surprise to many, NBA superstar Damian Lillard did not attend a big-time college basketball program. NBA point guard Jason Kidd once attended there, but Lillard could not follow his path at the private school. He was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Year twice and led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament in each of his four years. I looked at him like this game is tight; we cant be doing that. Every game I wanted to kill, then go look at the rankings. Evan Webeck is the San Francisco Giants beat writer for the Bay Area News Group. Lillard was out with a season-ending abdominal injury when the teams played twice last season after the trade. That places him third all time behind Kobe Bryant (five) and Wilt Chamberlain (32). Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. This is also the most points attempted by a player in NBA history, and it is also the most points ever attempted by a player in a season. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. In Tuesdays 118 101 loss to the Jazz, Damian Lillard led all players with 21 points (6-10 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 6-6 FT). #RipCity pic.twitter.com/BaYNtlqSMK, Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) February 27, 2023. When its happening in a game, I embrace it. It was part of the artistry that Billups was referring to. Lillard has done everything right up to this point, and with the team only sitting half a game out of the play-in tournament; anything is possible. Lillard has hit that mark twice and bested it once. He wasnt forcing at all.. Thats when I realized how tough it could be. While these arent the most eye-popping stats, Lillard was a three-star recruit out of high school and caught the attention of Weber State, where he excelled. He added a driving layup and a free throw. In the 2014-15 season, Damian Lillard was named the NBAs NBA rookie of the year. In 2015, he signed a five-year contract with the Trail Blazers worth a total of US$ 120 million. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. The effortless grace of Lillards 3-point stroke. He was a two-star recruit with few options, and packed his bags for Ogden, Utah to attend Weber State, where he missed a season with a broken foot. Support OregonLive. Lillard was unfamiliar with the death of Williams and became surprised and solemn once he heard the news. A Celebrity Net Worth estimate shows Damian Lillard has a net worth of approximately $100 million as of 2022, with a salary of approximately $40 million per year. We present them here for purely educational purposes. 2005-2023 CBS Interactive. For the Wildcats, Lillard averaged 22.4 points per game, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists during his senior season. He did it multiple times, in addition to on the video screen and on the basketball court. Lillard had been tied with Michael Jordan and James Harden. The police force creates more scandal than a Shonda Rhimes production and has been supervised by federal judge to wean the incessant corruption. One, it was his first game back after the break because Billups held him out of Thursdays game at Sacramento as a precaution after the team had a stressful, weather-plagued trip. So I was like, Man, this is going to be crazy tonight.. Lillards 3, his 11th of the night to tie his career high, made it 113-103 with 6:43 left. Lillard played college basketball for the Weber State Wildcats, where he was named the 2012 Big Sky Conference Mens Basketball Player of the Year and earned third-team All-American honors. Yeah, we had that in high school, Watkins told Dennis Scott. As soon as the buzzer sounded, Oakland junior Money Williams put his head in his hands and collapsed, while all around him, triumphant opponents did their best not to trample him in their celebration. When the season ended, the basketball coach there, Don Lippe, he basically told me, I dont know if youre going to be on this team. He broke down all these numbers saying, This many high school basketball players go to college, this many get a scholarship, this many play pro, this many make it to the NBA It got down to this really small number and he was like, This is how hard it is. I told him, I know, and he smirked at me and chuckled. And if the Oakland High students need even more motivation, all they have to do is learn Lillards bootstraps road to the NBA. The football team wears black and the Hells Angels spawned here. Im next and Im going to do the same thing. I enjoy those moments in a game when Im going after people and Im in attack mode but its the stuff afterward that I struggle with, Lillard said. The All-Star guard signed a $120 million extension with the Mavericks in the off-season. "We're a young team, and we're going through a lot of injuries," McCollum told reporters. But baby brother kept fighting. Damian Lillard averages 32.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game. So, Lillard backed off from scoring. Damian Lillard was largely overlooked as a high schooler. Exploring Factors To Consider. Sometimes players like to absorb that contact to finish and the refs call a foul, but sometimes they dont call a foul, so now youve created a tougher shot and it doesnt go in, Watkins said. The elder Damian Lillard beams, lifting his knee-high son inches from his face. The Blazers trail the sixth-place Mavericks by two games. PORTLAND, OREGON - FEBRUARY 26: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at the Moda Center on February 26, 2023 in Portland, Oregon. Im not scared of nobody. In addition to his 25 points, five assists, five boards, and one steal per game, the Portland Trail Blazers forward is the only player in NBA history to top 25 points, five assists, five boards, and one steal per game. To study it, to know it, to buy it. Damian Lillard played only 29 games due to a strained abdominal muscle that required surgery in his final season. One of the reasons he left here, he wasnt playing that much, but that made him want to get in the gym and get better.. And (sometimes) Im looking at it at I dont even know what the hell that is (like) why is this an expensive piece of art?. Im positive that a lot of them had that kind of feeling. It was good for all the students to see how important that part is. They completely sold out (in the second half) so I was just making the right plays and passing the ball.". He was funny, friendly and full of life, Oakland High assistant principal Shoshanna Towers told Patch.com. The most unheralded of backstories turned into the most celebrated player in Blazers history. It really, really was a masterful performance, Billups said. When a team presents that type of defense, accept it and embrace it and depend on teammates to take them out of that coverage, Lillard said. 4 Archbishop Riordan gets revenge on No. News never stops. Saturdays results, Tuesdays championship schedule, Campo elevates its play, routs Riordan to reach Open boys final, Mitty girls too much for Clovis West in Open semis, Naya Epps heats up, leads No. Oakland streets are no joke. It was wild here. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). He has averaged 20.5 points per game in his career, but he has never averaged more than 23 points per game. His second shot didnt come until 7:22. That takes some incredible discipline, Billups said. The most rudimentary materials produced one of the games most prolific and picturesque shooters. Young invited the entire team into his Doubletree hotel room for a final meeting. The Rockets were led with 17 points each from Alperen Sengun and JaeSean Tate. Those are the moments I struggle with. The guard is a rarity in professional sports today, as he has spent his entire 10-year career with the team that drafted him, despite rumors circulating he might sign with a different team. One game after the most prolific scoring output of his stellar career, Damian Lillard recorded his lowest point total in a game in more than five weeks. On Saturday afternoon, following practice and after he had planted the seed of urgency into his teammates, Lillard spoke to the media while drinking a bottle of water. The Pelicans also will be without guard Jose Alvarado (lower leg) and forward Larry Nance Jr. (ankle). Funny enough, crazy is a word Lillard used to describe the night. 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