Damian Lillard is one of the most lethal shooters ever to play the game. But unlike other such elite players, Lillard wasn’t a 5-star recruit as a youngster. In fact, coming out of high school, Lillard was a two-star guard with a scholarship at Weber State, which wasn’t a popular school to play for at the time. As a 6-foot guard, there wasn’t much on the table for Lillard. However, his high school journey from an underrated freshman to his senior year was something that was brought to light, years later.

As a freshman, Lillard was just 5-foot-1. Now, at this point, it is highly unlikely that a player can hit a growth spurt of over a foot. Still, Dame was as good as he could be. But being an undersized guard, many questioned his role on the team apart from his head coach. It got to a point where Lillard’s high school coach was fired for putting him in the game.

In the recent episode of Sonya Curry’s Raising Fame podcast, Dame’s mother, Gina Johnson revealed his high school story. “He was nowhere near how tall he is now, he was probably 5’1. He was real little. You know, he didn’t get no height till he got to the 10th grade… He was real little and they put him on the Varsity team and he was killing. You know, he got out there and he played real well. But it was a whole lot of adversity, they fired the coach. A whole bunch of stuff till where they felt like, they were showing him, you know, favoritism to be on the team.”,  Gina Johnson said.

By the time he reached his senior year, Lillard had proved everyone wrong. Despite receiving only four offers, Lillard gave his all in high school. As a senior, Dame stood 6 feet tall and averaged 22 points and 5 assists. Believe it or not, the obstacles were harder in college for the future NBA player.

Damian Lillard almost didn’t make it to the league

Fast forward to his tenure with Weber State, Lillard wasn’t as impactful of a player as a Freshman. He went on to average 11.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. This was definitely not enough to catch the scouts’ attention. And that’s why Lillard gave his all the following year, putting up 20 points a game and shooting almost 40% from three. Just as things were starting to pick up the pace, Dame faced his worst nightmare in his Junior year.

He suffered a foot injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season. His name already wasn’t ranked as high as other future NBA prospects. After the injury, Lillard was nowhere to be found on the draft board. His NBA dreams were slowly fading. This is where the majority of careers end. But not for Dame.

Lillard would prepare as much as he could with a broken foot. As he approached his senior year, there was no stopping him. Lillard averaged 24.5 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, ranking second in the nation in scoring. He was also the best guard in the 2012 Draft class. The Blazers drafted him at the 6th overall pick, and little did they know that this first-round pick of theirs would end up as the ROTY.

Regardless, it just goes on to tell how Damian Lillard wasn’t always the favorite to make it big time. Still, even with a small stature, Lillard did not let any obstacle get in his way. Being one of the ten players to score over 70 points in a game, Dame definitely has an inspiring story for young hoopers to look up to. What are your thoughts on Damian Lillard’s high school career? Do you think his journey will only be complete with a title under his name? Let us know in the comments.

Feel that you can do with another update from the sport of basketball? Then do check out this recent interview with the up-and-coming Georgia Lady Bulldogs star Asia Avinger.