Damian Lillard Biography Details, Age, Net Worth, and Basketball Career

Damian Lillard is an American pro basketball player who currently plays point guard for the Portland Trail Blazers. He was born July 15, 1990, in Oakland, California. He grew up in the Bay Area and wasn’t considered an elite prospect in high school. Lillard played college basketball at Weber State. As a redshirt junior, he was one of the top scorers in the country, putting him on the NBA radar. 

The Trail Blazers selected Lillard 6th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. He immediately stepped into the starting lineup for Portland and earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2013. The following year, Lillard averaged more than 20 points per game for the first time in his career, making it a regular occurrence. He also made the All-Star Team for the first time in what would become a regular occurrence. Lillard has continued to be one of the NBA’s best point guards and has led the Trail Blazers to the playoffs every season but his rookie year.

Outside of basketball, Lillard also has a career as a rapper under the name Dame D.O.L.L.A., which stands for Different On Levels the Lord Allows. He released his debut album, The Letter O, in 2016. He has since released two more albums, Confirmed in 2017 and Big D.O.L.L.A. in 2019.

Damian Lillard Basketball Career

Damian Lillard Net Worth, Salary, Endorsements & Career Earnings

Entering the 2019-20 season, Damian Lillard had made an estimated $93.3 million from his NBA salary over the first seven seasons of his career. That number is set to grow substantially after Lillard and the Trail Blazers agreed to a four-year, $196 supermax deal in 2019. His salary will surpass the $40 million threshold during the 2021-22 season and the $50 million threshold during the 2023-24 season.

As a rookie, Lillard signed an endorsement deal with Adidas. He signed an extension with Adidas two years later that’s worth as much as $100 million over 10 years. Lillard also has endorsement deals with Powerade, Hulu, Spalding, Panini, Foot Locker, JBL, Biofreeze and Moda Health.

Damian Lillard signed a two-year, $6.3 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2012.

Damian Lillard signed a five-year, $140 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2015.

Damian Lillard signed a four-year, $196 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2019.

Damian Lillard Personal Life

Damian Lillard grew up in East Oakland with parents Houston Lillard Sr. and Gina Johnson. He has a brother named Houston and a sister named Lanae. His brother Houston played college football at Southeast Missouri State and in the Indoor Football League. In February 2020, Lillard became engaged to longtime girlfriend Kay’La Hanson. The two have been together since Lillard’s college days at Weber State. In March 2018, Hanson gave birth to the couple’s first child, Damian Lillard Jr.

Lillard also has a career as a recording artist. In July 2015, he released his first single “Soldier in the Game” under the name Dame D.O.L.L.A. He has his own record label called Front Page Music. To date, Lillard has released three studio albums.

Awards & Achievements

Damian LIllard Quotes

• “I'm rapping, I'm hooping, I'm on a max-contract, I got a big shoe deal. Everything is good now. So of course, the support is going to be there, the love is going to be there, but what's going to happen when it changes or when I'm on the back-end of my career or when I ain't on TV all the time?”
• “I'm loyal to Portland. I want to play my whole career here, but at any moment, they can decide we want somebody else.”
• “Sometimes, it's just your turn to go through hard times.”
• “This era is like, 'Oh, I want to win championships, and how many rings do you have?' I've said that's what I play for: to win. But I'm not as overly consumed by that as how I treat people around me. And how I care about the people around me.”
• “A lot of people kind of... conform. I don't want it to sound like I'm saying don't care about championships. That's not my point. But what I'm saying is a lot of people give in to the pressure of, 'I didn't have this; I didn't have rings.'”

Damian Lillard Fun Facts

• Damian Lillard attended St. Joseph Notre Dame High School, which is the same school that produced Jason Kidd.
• Damian Lillard grew up a fan of the Golden State Warriors.
• Damian Lillard wears the number 0 in the NBA as an homage to the places he’s lived: Oakland, Ogden, and now Oregon.
• Damian Lillard says he’s scared of historic statues.
• Damian Lillard left Weber State before graduating but returned to school and got his degree in May 2015.
• Damian Lillard established the RESPECT program in Portland to push kids to work hard and graduate from high school.
• Before becoming teammates, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum became friends via Twitter.