When people ask, where is Damian Lillard from, they usually expect a simple city name. Oakland. That’s the answer you’ll find on a trading card or a Wikipedia sidebar. But for the guy who became "Dame Time," the answer is way more specific than just a dot on a California map.
He’s from Brookfield Village.
It’s a tiny pocket of East Oakland, a neighborhood built back in the 1940s for wartime workers. If you grew up there in the 90s, like Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard Sr. did, you didn’t just live there. You survived it. You learned how to move. You learned who to trust.
The "O" on His Chest Isn't a Zero
Have you ever noticed that Lillard doesn't wear the number 0? He wears the letter O. It’s a literal tribute to his journey. It stands for Oakland, where he was born on July 15, 1990. It stands for Ogden, the town in Utah where he played college ball at Weber State. And it stands for Oregon, the place where he spent over a decade as the heart of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Honestly, it's kinda poetic. Most superstars want to forget the struggle, but Dame wears it. He wants you to know exactly where he’s from.
The streets in Brookfield weren't exactly paved with gold. We’re talking about an area that dealt with heavy doses of violence and the drug trade. Dame has been open about seeing things no kid should see. He once mentioned in an interview with Basketball Network that he was around 12 and 13-year-olds who were carrying pistols.
That’s a heavy weight for a middle schooler.
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Saving a Life Through Basketball
His mom, Gina Johnson, knew the stakes. She didn’t just sign him up for hoops because he was tall (he actually wasn't, he was tiny for a long time). She did it to keep him alive.
"Living in Oakland was not so easy," Gina once told Court-side Moms. "Putting them in basketball was basically saving their lives because it kept them off the streets."
Lillard didn't have the typical "child prodigy" path. He wasn't some five-star recruit with ESPN cameras following him around in tenth grade. In fact, he was a two-star recruit. Most big colleges didn't even know his name.
The Three High Schools of Damian Lillard
A lot of people think he just walked into Oakland High and started dropping 40. Not even close. His high school career was a total grind of transfers and trying to find a coach who actually believed in him.
- Arroyo High School (San Lorenzo): He started here as a 5'5" freshman. He was a starter, but when the coach left, Dame decided he needed a change.
- St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda): This is the famous private school that produced Jason Kidd. Dame went there for his sophomore year, but he barely got any playing time. He was riding the pine.
- Oakland High School: This is where it finally clicked. Under coach Orlando Watkins, he became a First-Team All-League player in his junior and senior years.
He averaged 22.4 points and 5.2 assists as a senior. He led the Wildcats to a 23-9 record. And yet, the "Blue Bloods" like Kansas or Duke? They weren't calling.
Why Utah? The Move to Ogden
If you're wondering how an Oakland kid ended up in a small town in Utah, it's because Weber State was the only school that showed up early. Coach Randy Rahe flew out to see him play in a tournament in Texas. He didn't just send an assistant; he went himself.
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Dame chose Weber State partly because he wanted to get away from the distractions of East Oakland. He needed a place where he could just hoop and breathe.
It worked.
He stayed for four years. He became a two-time Big Sky MVP. By the time he left for the 2012 NBA Draft, he was the number two scorer in school history. Even after he became a millionaire, he went back and finished his degree in Professional Sales in 2015. How many NBA superstars do that?
The Return to the West
The story took a wild turn recently. After a stint with the Milwaukee Bucks, news broke in 2025 that Lillard was heading back to the Portland Trail Blazers.
For Dame, Portland is basically a second home. His sister graduated from Portland State. His mom and kids are settled there. When he talks about "going home," he’s often talking about the Pacific Northwest, even if his roots are buried deep in the Oakland concrete.
What Most People Get Wrong
There’s a misconception that Lillard is "just a shooter." People see the logo threes and the "Dame Time" celebration and think it’s all natural talent.
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But if you look at where he’s from—the Brookfield Rec Center where Howard Gamble used to watch him play—you see a different story. Gamble used to watch Dame in the gym by himself, counting down "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" and hitting shots. He was visualizing the NBA before anyone else in the world thought he’d make it.
He wasn't the "chosen one." He was the "overlooked one" who decided to outwork everybody.
Actionable Takeaways from Dame's Journey
If you're looking at Lillard’s life as a blueprint, here is what actually matters:
- Location isn't destiny: Being from a "violent" or "overlooked" neighborhood like Brookfield doesn't cap your potential; it builds the "lens" (as Dame calls it) through which you see the world.
- Loyalty pays dividends: Dame’s connection to his family—like when he told his mom to quit her job the day he signed his first contract—is the foundation of his mental toughness.
- Bet on the ones who bet on you: He stayed at a mid-major school (Weber State) because they were the first to believe in him. He didn't chase the "big name" just for the sake of it.
- Finish what you start: Getting that college degree three years after entering the NBA wasn't about the money. It was about finishing the job.
The next time you see that "O" on his jersey, remember it’s not just a number. It’s a map. From the streets of East Oakland to the rafters in Portland, Damian Lillard never forgot the zip code that made him.
To truly understand Lillard, you have to look past the stats and look at the neighborhood. Brookfield Village didn't just produce a basketball player; it produced a man who knows exactly who he is, regardless of which jersey he's wearing.
As of early 2026, Lillard continues to bridge the gap between his two homes, recently launching the Damian Lillard Scholars program to help kids from Oakland high schools attend college in Portland. He isn't just from Oakland; he's bringing Oakland with him.