The playoffs are officially underway. The stars are shining just a little bit brighter, the crowds are roaring just a little bit louder, and the chases for the loose balls feel just a little bit more desperate.

It’s one of the best times of the year, but as we all glue our eyes to our tv’s, anxiously awaiting the crowning of a new champion, we decided this was a great time to lift up a story about an icon that just never got the breaks.

Check out our latest youtube video for the whole, unabridged version, but for now, let’s take a look back at the Dame era in Portland, and what it meant.

Not a championship story

This is a story about an icon and a city. But you should know up front, it’s not a championship story.

No parades. No banners. No trophy glinting under the lights. Still, there’s a reason we tell it.

Because memories aren’t formed by hardware.

They’re crystallized by hope. By the eruption of 20,000 people when the shot falls. And in the silent moments when it doesn’t.

This isn’t a championship story.

But it’s the kind of story that gets passed down at dinner tables, long after the final buzzer sounds.

The kind of story that matters.

The Spark (Day 1) Lakers vs Blazers

October 31, 2012. 

As Brandon Roy limped into retirement, Blazer fans across the PNW mourned the loss of their burgeoning star. But as one burned so bright it went out, another was flickering for the very first time. 

Twenty-three points. Eleven assists. A win over the mighty Lakers. Damian Lillard didn’t just survive the moment, he commanded it.

Poised. Patient. A beat ahead of the game. The fans didn’t know exactly what they were watching. But they knew it was something.

Something worth holding onto. And after years of heartbreak, that mattered more than any headline could.

The Breakthrough (Day 548) Rockets vs Blazers 

May 2, 2014. 

Just a year later, and the lottery felt like a distant memory. Now they were here. On the verge of their first series win in years, with the game resting in the hands of their second year PG.

0.9 seconds left. Down two.

Lillard sprinted around two screens, caught the inbound, turned, and let it fly.

Catch. Turn. Game. Portland erupted. Their hearts, worn thin by years of bad luck, finally allowed themselves to believe again.

He wasn’t just the city’s next star. He was their guy.

Confident but understated. Deadly but joyful. The embodiment of the spirit they fought to keep alive. 

Damian Lillard was exactly where he belonged.

The Window (Day 2388) Warriors vs Blazers

May 16, 2019

By 2019, the roster had changed. The hope had matured into something more tangible, something with momentum.

Portland fought through the playoffs, past OKC, past Denver, and into the Western Conference Finals.

Seven seconds left. Game 2. The same man who silenced the Thunder with an impossible shot, rocking the ball back and forth as the clock ticked down.

This was supposed to be his moment. Instead, Andre Iguodala stripped him.

And with it, the last real chance at a Finals slipped away. No excuses. No bitterness.

Just a heavy truth: All windows close eventually.

The Requiem (Day 3770) Blazers vs Rockets

February 26, 2023.

The league had moved on. The pieces of the contending roster sold off for assets to assist the rebuild, outside of the one holdover no one had the strength to let go of.

Today, Damian Lillard would play a meaningless regular season game against the Rockets. And he’d drop the most meaningful 71 points you’ll ever see.

Logo threes, sidesteps, vintage drives. The stands rained MVP chants down on him, even as the standings betrayed them.

This wasn’t the coronation they once dreamed of.

It was a requiem. A love letter to what was never meant to be, from a loyal soul to a city that never stopped believing.

The Last Day (Day 4000)

October 14, 2023.

This was the last day Damian Lillard’s Basketball Reference page listed just one team. Tomorrow, he will wear a Bucks jersey.

The dream of a title in black and red was over. But rewriting the past only poisons the present. Those fans weren’t naive, and their star wasn’t either.

They knew the odds. They bought in anyway. They wallowed in defeats. Relished the triumphs. And stitched a thousand memories into their hearts.

Trophies rust. Rings collect dust. But stories breathe. First in the generation that records them, then in the ones that cling to every word. 

This was a story about a player and a city. It wasn’t a championship story. But make no mistake.

It mattered.

Check out the full video