NBA ALL-STAR MEDIA DAY

February 15, 2025

Damian Lillard

Shaq's OGs

Media Day Press Conference

Q. If you were the NBA commissioner for a day, what would be one rule you would change?

DAMIAN LILLARD: What rule would I change? Hmm, what rule would I change? Y'all going to get me in some trouble.

It would probably have something to do with the fines. I would change something about the fining system. I feel like we get penalized for just about everything that comes with the emotions of the game. So it would probably be something like that.

Q. Dame, what do you think about the significance of this practice being here in Oakland as opposed to San Francisco, and the HBCU game, given the context of all the great Black athletes that come from Oakland?

DAMIAN LILLARD: I thought it was a great idea, especially with what's happening with the professional teams in Oakland right now. Growing up close by here, driving by and looking at the Coliseum and seeing Oracle and how dead it is, when there was so much energy in it when I was a kid with the Raiders, the A's, the Warriors being here, concerts, AND1 Mixtape tour coming through here, Globetrotters. I remember a lot about this parking lot.

One of the first things I asked when I got here was, are they doing Saturday night at Oracle? Just because I would have loved to see that energy be here with the professional sports teams being taken away.

So for us to be able to come here and do the practice, for the HBCU game being here, like you said, especially with how rich our history is with African-American athletes, I'm happy that they kind of took this stance and came this direction with it because I think the city needs this type of energy. If All-Star Weekend is going to be here, I thought this was a great opportunity to do something like this.

Q. Who was your favorite athlete growing up from Oakland?

DAMIAN LILLARD: My favorite athlete growing up from Oakland was a guy named Paul Marigney, P-40. Oakland people know.

Obviously, we knew of the Gary Paytons and Jason Kidds and Brian Shaws and everybody that was extremely successful. But I had an opportunity to be right there on Paul. I saw him in the neighborhood. I saw him go to college and play well in college and play overseas. I also knew him.

He was a guy that I felt like should have been -- he had an opportunity to be me before I became me in the NBA from Oakland. I would say him.

Q. You've seen so much happen in this arena, been here for games. What's a moment that stands out just being here? Having grown up here, what's a moment in this arena that stands out to you?

DAMIAN LILLARD: When I walked in this morning, I came in through, like, the tunnel, and we walked past where the locker room used to be at when I was a kid. I turned to somebody and I was like, when I was younger, the Warriors' team was so bad that I used -- me and my brother used to walk through the tunnel, walk in the back, eat food in the media room. Now that I'm in the NBA, I know it was the media room. So it was like hot dogs and sodas and stuff like that. We used to eat in the media room and then walked out where the players walked out at.

We would just stand there. They'd be coming out of the locker room. We'd get autographs. Walking up to their cars. It was just like, how were we ever able to do that?

That's one memory that I don't think I'll ever forget, especially today walking in and seeing that exact spot. That's kind of unforgettable for me.

Q. Obviously, it's a different All-Star Game format. It's an unusual format. You guys have to somehow find it against a Rising Stars team that is not supposed to win. How easy do you think that will be for them from there's a "no pressure on us" standpoint versus you, NBA players, knowing you have to win?

DAMIAN LILLARD: I mean, I think that's probably why they put this type of format in, to kind of heighten that sense of pride and not wanting to be on the wrong end of that.

I mean, we'll see. I think one thing about a team full of young players is they're going to come out there and they're going to play with some energy. They're going to play fast.

I think that'll probably heighten the competition. So we'll see.

Q. What did you think of the Super Bowl performance from Kendrick and having that kind of rap on that kind of stage?

DAMIAN LILLARD: I mean, I appreciated it, being a huge Kendrick fan, being from the West Coast and an artist myself. I just appreciated it from an artist standpoint.

Not many rappers get to grace that stage and get on that type of platform, so I was happy for him and excited to see it.

Q. You just released with adidas an all-time classic shoe. What does that mean to you to be able to be in this position?

DAMIAN LILLARD: It was an honor for me just because you don't see a lot of collabs like that. For me, I'm connected to original things. I like original songs that get sampled after a long time. I'm a fan of the original NBA, just back in that thorough -- a more thorough era of things. So for me to be able to have that collab on a Superstar on a shell toe and then have a whole roll-out and event behind it, I always look at things like that as a big sign of respect and a big sign of love.

So the fact that I was able to do that with adidas after a long partnership, it was an honor for me. I was just excited to see people be excited about it.

Being at this stage in my career and being able to hold on to these types of experiences, I think it just makes it more special.

Q. If you could give your 12-year-old self some advice, what would you tell you?

DAMIAN LILLARD: If I could give my 12-year-old self some advice, I would tell young Dame to be a better listener. I said this to some high school students at my school the other day. You always think you know more than you know. As time goes by, you look back and you realize you didn't really know anything.

Even now, I'm 34 years old, and I'm sure in a couple years I'll look back and think I knew more than I actually knew. In life you always evolve and you're always learning. If you don't listen, it just makes that harder.

As a 12-year-old, I thought I listened, but if I would have listened more and listened better, I feel like I wouldn't have had to go through some of the things that I did go through. That process is just better, not just in sports but in life, if you just keep your ears open and listen. So that would be the No. 1 thing I would tell myself.

Q. Dame, you were asked earlier about Oakland. Do you see anything in the future for Oakland to try to get back to some prominence?

DAMIAN LILLARD: Yeah, I hope so. It's not looking good. I think it's still fresh. The Raiders have been in Vegas a couple years. This past season was the last one here for the A's. The Warriors have been in San Francisco, what, four or five years now. I think it's still fresh. I's hard to see where it goes from here. How do you recreate that and how do you bring that type of life back into the city?

Hopefully we can find it someplace. It's something that I've been looking into, not just for sports, but how do you bring some type of positivity back into Oakland and just find ways to still lift people up because I feel like having three major sports teams here, regardless if you're a major sports fan or not, it's something positive that people in the city could connect to and have as an experience, right here in our backyard.

I'm really not sure, but hopefully we can all come together and try to figure out a way to continue to bring positive things to the city of Oakland.

Q. In the great three-point debate of 2025, where do you stand? Too many threes, not enough threes? And what has the three-point shot done for your career?

DAMIAN LILLARD: I think the three-point shot for my career has made my career great because I think I'm one of the best at it. It was that way when I stepped foot into the league.

I think as a league now, we look so deep into analytics, and you hear people saying out loud, we want a three or a layup. Don't be shooting too many mid-range jumpers. You hear that, and I think it just kind of -- it takes away the originality of the game, I would say. It's meant to be played at three levels. It's meant to be played a certain way.

But it's a copycat league that we play in, and you can't have everybody playing one way, a successful way and you playing a different way. You've got to get in line with what's working to win, and right now that's what it is.

But I don't think it's making it a bad game. I just think you get a few people with a platform saying it, and then everybody just jumps on board and starts saying it.

I think obviously the game could be cleaned up in a few ways, but I don't think it's just on shooting too many threes.