Damian Lillard is a professional basketball player who plays the point guard position for the Milwaukee Bucks. Off the court, he performs under his stage name “Dame D.O.L.L.A.” and has become a rising figure in the rap scene, partnering with huge names such as Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg for some of his most memorable hits.

Famed for his “Dame Time” celebration after his multiple series clinching shots, Adidas signature shoes and overall humble persona, Lillard is considered to be one of the greatest shooters in the history of basketball. He is also noted for wearing the letter O, representing Oakland where he blossomed, Ogden where he played college ball at Weber State, and Oregon, the state he called home for over 11 years.

Lillard’s professional career began when he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. He would go on to have a stellar rookie season, unanimously winning the 2013 Rookie of the Year award as well as breaking the NBA record for most three-pointers made by a player in their first year. He earned his first All-Star and All-NBA selections the following season and quickly began turning heads around the league.

During the off-season of 2015, Lillard would take his first steps into the music scene by releasing his debut single, “Soldier in the Game,” via SoundCloud. Around a year later, after cementing himself as the cornerstone of the Blazers franchise during the 2015-16 season, he released his debut album, The Letter “O”. The album saw features from household names such as Lil Wayne and Jamie Foxx, but Lillard’s foray into rap was brushed off as a joke by many, with opposing fans taunting him by chanting “SoundCloud rapper” when he was playing on the road.

His second album, Confirmed, was released in October of 2017 and saw Lil Wayne return for another guest verse as well as an appearance from Atlanta legend 2 Chainz. The album charted at 72 on the Billboard’s list of top-selling albums, marking Lillard’s first entry in the top 100. The 2017-18 season also saw Lillard achieve success on the court by receiving a selection to the All-NBA first team, solidifying his status as one of the top players in the league.

The following year, Lillard and the Blazers would face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the 2019 playoffs. In the fifth game of the series, leading 3-1, he would make one of the most iconic plays in recent NBA history, sinking a 37-foot, three-point buzzer-beater over Paul George to eliminate the Thunder and advance to the second round. The Blazers narrowly moved past the Denver Nuggets to reach their first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2000, however, they would go on to be ruthlessly dispatched by the Golden State Warriors in a 0-4 sweep.

Despite the disappointing result, Lillard released his third album, Big D.O.L.L.A., in the 2019 off-season. With another appearance from Lil Wayne as well as a feature from Jeremih, the album saw another jump in success for Lillard, reaching number 68 on the Billboard charts.

Lillard would continue to perform at an incredibly high level on the court, but the Blazers would face a steep decline in performance after the 18-19 season, marred with playoff shortcomings and failures to even qualify for the postseason. He won the NBA’s Teammate of the Year award in 2021, the same year he released his fourth album, Different On Levels the Lord Allowed, revealing the meaning of the acronym in his moniker.

The 2022-23 season saw Lillard achieve a great deal of personal success. He became the all-time top scorer in Blazers franchise history and followed it up by breaking a franchise record for most points in a single game with his career-high 71-point performance against the Houston Rockets in February 2023. However, the Blazers would again fail to qualify for the postseason and, on the first of July, 2023, Lillard requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers with a preference to move to the Miami Heat, according to ESPN.

Around a month after his request, Lillard released his fifth album, Don D.O.L.L.A., which was described as his “most personal project yet”. The following month, in September 2023, Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team deal. The move came as a shock to many in and around the league, as it had long been deemed a foregone conclusion that Lillard would either move to his preferred destination of Miami or remain in Portland for another season.

In the 2023-24 season opener, Lillard scored 39 points in the Bucks' 118-117 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, breaking a Bucks franchise record for most points scored on a debut. The same night, a remix of Rick Ross & Meek Mill’s “SHAQ & KOBE” released, which featured a guest verse from Lillard. In late November 2023, he released an expanded version of Don D.O.L.L.A.: Don D.O.L.L.A. Life Lately Edition which featured five new tracks reflecting on the recent changes in his life and discussing the importance of staying grounded and calm in spite of jealousy and hatred.