The clock has run out of Dame Time in Rip City.
The Portland Trail Blazers will trade Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team deal, ending a months-long saga of speculation spurred by the NBA star’s formal trade request in June. Lillard, for his part, says he’s excited for his next chapter.
Trade details
The trade is part of a three-team deal also including the Phoenix Suns. Portland will receive Milwaukee guard Jrue Holiday and forward Toumani Camara, along with Phoenix center Deandre Ayton. Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic will go to the Suns.
A legendary legacy
Lillard made a lasting impression during his 11 seasons in Rip City. And if his influence in getting Portland to past playoffs was ever in question, remember that the team’s first time missing the postseason after Lillard joined the roster was in the 2021-22 season when he missed the final 47 games due to injury.
Here are five achievements Dame netted during his time in Portland.
- Rookie of the Year: In the 2012 season opener, Lillard put up 23 points and 11 assists — becoming the third player in NBA history to score at least 20 points and 10 assists during their NBA debut. He went on to break the all-time NBA rookie record for three-pointers in a season.
- Three-point pro: After scoring 10 three-pointers — a franchise record — during a 2019 game, Lillard went on to help the Trail Blazers advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.
- NBA All-Star: Lillard was selected to the All-Star Games roster seven times as a Blazer (2014, 2015, 2018-2021, and 2023).
- Player of the Week: Dame was named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week 14 times as a Blazer — the most in franchise history.
- Eclipsing Clyde Drexler: During a December 2022 game, Lillard scored his 18,041st career point, shattering the Blazers’ all-time scoring record held by Clyde Drexler for 27 years.
And here are a few fun facts (can you tell we aren’t ready to say goodbye?).
- Dealership owner: In 2020, he became the co-owner of Damian Lillard Toyota in McMinnville, prompting city officials to declare Oct. 1 as Damian Lillard Day.
- His jersey (No. 0) represents the letter O and his journey from Oakland, California, to Ogden, Utah, to Oregon.
- During his rookie season, he launched RESPECT — a program to encourage students at McDaniel, Parkrose, and Roosevelt High Schools to “Show Up, Work Hard, and Be Kind.”
- Like his professional basketball career, his rise as a hip-hop artist and rapper — known as Dame D.O.L.L.A. — took off in Portland.
