Damian Lillard Arrives at Game 1 of Western Conference Finals in Hometown A's Jersey
By Jerry Trotta
Damian Lillard, a native of Brookfield Village in East Oakland, grew up less than five minutes away from the famous Oracle Arena.
Throughout his career, Dame has played a total of 16 regular season and playoff games there since his debut back in 2012. And he's enjoyed considerable success playing at his hometown arena, averaging 24.8 points per game during the regular season and 25.8 points in five career postseason games at Oracle.
Heading into Tuesday night's pivotal Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Dame-Dolla was decked out in a customized Oakland Athletics jersey upon entering the ever-familiar arena. Have a look:
Damian Lillard rockin' the A's gear before game 1 in Oakland tonight ⚾️
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) May 14, 2019
(?: @CHold) pic.twitter.com/OhqNygiADS
We'd honestly bet the house on the Blazers upon seeing this iconic entrance...if they were playing anybody else but the Warriors.
. @Dame_Lillard will face more All-NBA 1st and 2nd team players in the West these playoffs than @KingJames faced in the East between 2011 and 2018. pic.twitter.com/JLY996aBoG
— Basketball Forever (@Bballforeverfb) May 14, 2019
Lillard will take his 28.4 points per game average this postseason against the team that's won three of the last four NBA titles -- the same team he grew up cheering for. That's okay though. No. 0 has embraced the underdog role ever since his days at Weber State and that very same attitude is a testament to Portland's unprecedented run to the WCF.
It's Dame Time.