Damian Lillard's Oakland homecoming is a reminder of his final mountain to scale

New York Times

18-03-2025

'Dame Time,' the moniker of the venerable Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard, isn't about minutes or seconds, not even when they are dwindling. It has nothing to do with chronology. Not in the universal sense.
Dame Time is about occasion. About gall. It is the collision of opportunity and audacity. Lillard, who turns 35 this offseason, has built his name on responding to moments crafted by the preciousness of time. Urgency has bred his best.
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He gets no greater reminder of his finest quality than at home. Oakland, the place where his friendship with pressure was forged.
'It's always a great experience when I get to come back home,' he said. 'See the people and see the neighborhoods and see the streets, the AC Transit buses and the BART, and everything that comes with being from Oakland. You get busy and you don't get to see it all the time, when I used to see it every day. When I do it, you know, I appreciate the moments that I am back.'
The good news for the Bucks, who will need to get the best out of Lillard, is that time is no longer their ally. The disappointment of the 2024 postseason haunts. The defending-champion Boston Celtics are still a massive hurdle. The sudden excellence of the Cleveland Cavaliers seems to shrink the Bucks' window even tighter. And with 15 games remaining, and having scarcely held health and consistency in both fists this season, the Bucks' time to find their groove is rapidly diminishing — especially staring down a five-game road trip out West.
Lillard's return to the Bay on Tuesday to play the Golden State Warriors is a reminder of his familiarity with uphill climbs. With adverse odds. With the allegedly insurmountable. When the playoffs commence, when time squeezes even tighter, Milwaukee's hopes take on a different glean, because they have one of the best ever in Giannis Antetokounmpo. And they have one of the game's great pressure players with him.
Lillard was in the area recently for the NBA All-Star Game, but it wasn't so much about him. His franchise wasn't the one highlighted. The game didn't happen in his home arena. He wasn't the focus of this weekend's spotlight. But he didn't need it to be. His shine is independent.
However, what was on display, what was being celebrated, Lillard absolutely embodies. The abundant talent. The self-sustaining confidence that produces cachet. The undeniable resilience. The insufficiently heralded yet undeniably respected.
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The Bay Area, vast and diverse in its grandeur, finds its heart in Oakland. And Lillard is the modern face of its worthy legacy. He's 'as real as they come in that respect,' Steph Curry said.
So much has been made of the legends of modern basketball and the reminders of their departure from the sport they've dominated. Curry. LeBron James. Kevin Durant. James Harden. The plea is to appreciate them now because when they are gone, their presence will be sorely missed.
Don't forget Dame and why he is unforgettable. And why these homecomings matter more as time marches on.
These homecomings are increasingly special as time, Dame Time, is running out on his career and those of his fellow living legends. He belongs in the collection of the revered for what they've given the game. He's the kind of player future generations will hear about when they start propping up the greats of their era. Lillard is so Oakland in how outsiders may not see or comprehend his greatness, but those most familiar have no doubt.
'If you know his story,' Kyrie Irving said, 'and you know how much work he's put in, and he's at this level and he's well decorated, you know that he had to wait his turn. He did it the right way by putting in hard work consistently. I think that's a beautiful legacy to leave behind.'
His legacy is missing only one thing, for which he is in Milwaukee. Not because his resume is unworthy without a title, but because you don't climb from such depths without wanting to touch the summit.
It looks improbable at the moment. The Bucks have lost four of their last six — two defeats at the hands of the league's best teams — with three of the losses at home. Swapping Kyle Kuzma for Khris Middleton has yet to produce the desired results.
Maybe now is a good time for Lillard to come home. To be reminded of mountains already scaled. When expectations were founded on a greatness yet revealed.
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'When I think about my journey,' Lillard said last month from the hallway of his alma mater, Oakland High, 'it wasn't like everybody was on me because I was supposed to do what I've done. I was a regular kid. They knew I was good at basketball, but none of this was expected. So when I kind of think back on it, I always remind myself of how important the journey is.
'Everybody will look at where I am now, but when I think about the moments of the journey, that's what gives me chills sometimes about how it happened.'
Lillard allowed himself to remember because he was in the halls he once walked. He'd announced a $25,000 scholarship and a partnership with Portland State and blessed the basketball teams with his Adidas signature sneakers.
It's always a big deal when he comes home. Whether he comes bearing gifts or just bringing his presence. It's still Dame Time.
He's a walking example of maximized potential. Of what could happen when opportunity collides with audacity. An unspoken permission, a living dare, for the youth of his city to be great. To not shrink in the moment. To not be deterred by the odds.
Age and maturity haven't gotten him too comfortable in his cloak of superstardom. A part of Lillard will always see himself as the kid from The Town. The same youngster who rode Route 82 from Brookfield to Oakland High because he was no better than anyone else, someone who can pull up to a high school game with no security and no fanfare. Who can get up shots with neighborhood hoopers at the Ira Jinkins Recreation Center that now bears his name.
The mentality that makes him one of the people is what makes him so beloved.
'I think if there's one thing that I could point to and say I'm not very good at, I would say it's being celebrated,' Lillard said. 'I think it's something I need to be better about because I just get uncomfortable about things being all about me. I think part of that is because of how I grew up with so many cousins and siblings and so many people that I've always had to share it with. Do things for others. Lift others up. So, that was such a huge emphasis in my childhood, even when I feel like I understand that I might be worthy of it.'
If he can pull this off with the Bucks, he'll prove again that nothing about him is regular.