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Damian Lillard returned to a hero’s welcome at Rip City Reunion, a Portland Trail Blazers community event Sunday, Sept. 21 in Pioneer Courthouse Square. Attendees of the jam-packed lovefest not only got to celebrate their prodigal son, but they caught a glimpse of nine other Blazers, including the buzzy first-round draft pick Yang Hansen. Lillard re-signed with the Blazers in July with a three-year deal, though he is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season due to a torn left Achilles tendon.
In an on-stage interview with Todd Bosma, director of game operations for the Blazers, Lillard revealed the emotional side of what it was like to switch to the Milwaukee Bucks for nearly two years. He recounted the 63-second ovation the crowd gave him in February 2024 the first time he was introduced as a member of the visiting team.
“Man, I didn’t know what to do,” Lillard said. “Typically, I try not to draw any attention to myself, or I try to just, kind of, float under the radar. When there’s a moment to stick my chest out or stand my ground, I’ll do it, but I’m not looking for that. So, when I was forced to face that amount of love and the ovation and how it just kept going and going and going, that was tough to deal with. That was hard.”
It has only begun to truly sink in that he is home for real in the last week, when he didn’t have to pack up and start heading to Milwaukee. He said he always remained connected to the community even when he played for the Bucks, and gave special shout-outs to Self Enhancement, Inc., the Black Parent Initiative and his anti-bullying RESPECT campaign. Finally, he expressed optimism for the franchise and heaped praise on his teammates.
“Watching the games, you know, I see somebody like Toumani [Camara] and I’m like, I want to play with him,” Lillard said. “I see Deni [Avdija] and I’m like, I want to play with him. I see [Shaedon Sharpe] and I was there when Shae was a rookie. And I look at Shae and I’m like, I want to play with this Shae.”
The two-hour rally, featuring an approximately 30-minute segment with Lillard on stage, offered food carts, a Blazers face painting station, a couple areas to play basketball, and a station for the public to write welcome-home notes to Lillard. The other Blazers came on stage for about the last five minutes of the presentation to greet Lillard and throw t-shirts to the enthusiastic crowd.
Jeremy Myrland of Lake Oswego came to the rally with his 9-year-old twins, who have attended two of Lillard’s youth basketball camps.
“He’s the heart and soul of the Trail Blazers,” Myrland said. “Whether it’s the right move or not basketball-wise, it doesn’t matter. He belongs here in Portland, and we’re super excited.”
