Since he first came to town in 2012 as the Blazers’ 6th pick, Damian Lillard has been planting his roots in Portland. More than a decade later, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer is looking to continue to make his mark in the community, and help to build the city back up after the pandemic.

“Portland is my home,” Lillard says, matter of factly.

Throughout his inevitable Hall of Fame career, Lillard has looked to leave an imprint on the three places that each tell the story of his journey. He’s often described his jersey number 0 as “The Letter O” — representing each chapter — his hometown of Oakland, the Ogden, Utah community where he starred at Weber State University, and at the league level, in Oregon.

As a Trail Blazer, he’s made his mark with a variety of investments, community programs and partnerships that have stamped him in the area for the long term. His latest venture is a new downtown “luxury sports lounge” named Honorable Mention, where he’ll be combining the worlds of sports, music, entertainment and culture together for the Rose City.

“It was a perfect opportunity for us to create an environment for everybody to feel connected to,” said Lillard. “To provide a good space for people to come eat, come kick it, watch games, and have a safe and familiar space … It felt like a perfect opportunity as we try to help build the city of Portland back up to what it was before Covid.”

Launching just ahead of Portland playing host to the West regional portion of the NCAA’s Men’s March Madness bracket this past weekend, the lounge features sports nightly on more than a dozen TVs, across both men’s and women’s leagues of all levels.

“We want to create something that will lift people up,” said Lillard. “Us starting this space is going to give people something to do, that’s positive and not reckless. It’ll be calm, a good energy and good vibes. You’re going to find different environments and different crowds each time you come in this place. This being the start of us creating a safe space in the downtown area, will bring some entertainment and fun for people.”

Located just below the historic downtown Benson Hotel on Broadway, the elevated layout and look draws its inspiration from the 1920s era of barrier-breaking Ivy League athletics. It was an era where Black athletes often marked firsts in their fields, yet were underrepresented and acknowledged across the sports landscape over time.

Rich mahogany tones, textured touches atop furniture and upscale vibes come to life throughout the space, with a variety of collegiate pennants and framed portraits of iconic black athletic pioneers lining the walls of the space. The Honorable Mention wordmark is represented in a hybrid “HM” collegiate font logo icon that is displayed across TVs, materials throughout and a range of logo apparel.

“It’s super important,” describes Duperrier. “We don’t pay enough homage to the groundbreaking athletes that paved the way for people like Dame to be able to do what they’re doing now.”

Each month, a different local artist will be creating works to celebrate specific athletes that left their imprint on the sporting world, ranging from female tennis players to basketball stars to pioneering ice hockey athletes at Ivy League schools. The first tribute piece, by Tristan Kwame Irving, honors Brown University star Fritz Pollard.

In 1916, Pollard became the first black college football player to compete in the Rose Bowl. He was soon one of the first two black NFL players in league history in 1920, and later, the first black NFL head coach, amongst many, many other firsts in his career. Pollard represents a lineage of sport that Lillard and his partners felt compelled to highlight, with thoughtful spotlights seen throughout the lounge.

“The idea of Honorable Mention ties right into my background,” Lillard said. 
“I’ve always been behind the scenes, underrated and unknown — all the way up until I got to the NBA. I never got the credit. I never got the recognition until I made it to the NBA.”

Throughout the lounge, iconic black athletes from the early Ivy League era are highlighted.

Lillard is also hoping that patrons, future athletes and current pros in town can connect with the stories of the past legends honored at Honorable Mention, and soak up the rich history on display throughout the lounge.

“I know that position very well,” continued Lillard. “I was aligned in what it represented. Me being able to finally blossom in my career here in Portland when I made it to the NBA, I feel like I’m still a representation of these historic people that paved the way.”

In addition to the theme of honoring those who broke barriers and paved the way in the sporting world, Lillard and his partners are also hoping for Honorable Mention to help continue to forge connections and bring people closer together in the near term. The food is a mix of approachable and sharable plates, along with elevated twists on American classics.

“This space is for the community, and it’s a win for Portland,” adds Duperrier.

In a city that serves as home to both Nike and Adidas’ US headquarters, there are customized Honorable Mention editions of a clean heel logo hit Air Force 1 and exclusive embroidered Adidas Samba pairs displayed throughout the lounge, a welcoming nod to folks from all brands in the country’s sneaker hub.

The space is also purposefully laid out to include larger team-friendly group seating options, along with a separate private speakeasy lounge in the back for group events.

“Local teams can host their season-end awards banquets here,” beamed Lillard. “I was a part of that as a kid all the time.”

Creating camaraderie and togetherness has been a key pillar of Lillard’s leadership language in the league, that he’s found leads to team success and consistency over the course of a season. He expects his new lounge to help provide that atmosphere for visiting pro sports teams in town as well, as Portland now boasts a dual presence in both professional basketball and soccer leagues with men’s and women’s teams.

“It’s a known thing, when you go city to city — teams want to do things together,” Lillard continued. “They want to create spaces where you can build connection between players. Now, a lot of players aren’t into being in clubs. When teams come into town, they’ll have a place where they’ll be able to hear the music they want, have some good food and catch the games that they want to follow.”

Portland isn’t exactly known as a road trip hot spot, with Lillard looking to create a comfortable setting for the Association’s brotherhood to enjoy when in town.

“This will be a prime spot for that,” he added. “It’ll be a private place and not somewhere where they’ll find any trouble. It’s right downtown. If they have family in town, they can have them stay right at The Benson. There’s just a lot of opportunity for people to use this space in a variety of ways. I look forward to that.”

In his nearly fifteen years of living in Portland, Lillard has experienced the up-and-down shifts within the city. Hard hit by the pandemic, the downtown area has been looking for more momentum, more excitement and more runway towards a resurgent atmosphere.

“When I first got to Portland, we used to bounce around all over the place,” Lillard reflects. “We’d go to different restaurants, different bars, different lounges and different events. There was just so much to do. People were always in a good mood, and everyone had something to do.”

That ability to embrace all that Portland had to offer and blend in amongst the locals, as best as a young franchise player could, allowed for Lillard to “fall in love with the city” early on. As his family continued to spend more and more time in Portland — just a short flight north from Oakland — he found himself investing more and more into the city.

Back in 2013, just after his Rookie of the Year season, he launched the “RESPECT” program with Portland Public Schools, partnering with a web of local high schools to encourage students to “show up, work hard, and be kind.” He still impacts students each school year to this day, hosting surprise pep rallies and incentivizing top performers with tickets to Blazer games. He opened his Lillard Toyota car dealership in 2020, further entrenching himself in the business community.

In early 2024, the Adidas gymnasium at the company’s offices in north Portland was officially dubbed “The Damian Lillard Court.” It marked the first time the brand named a building after an athlete partner.

“I’m a big enough figure here in Portland now, for reasons outside of basketball,” smiled Lillard. “Because of what I do in the community and ways that I try to lift the city up.”

As he’s continued to develop relationships with city leaders and build on a variety of ideas and projects, Honorable Mention becomes the latest example of his connection to Portland long term.

Additional partners in the project include Dr. William Johnson, President of Moda Health, and David Lucas, son of the late Maurice Lucas, the beloved All-Star power forward on the Trail Blazers’ lone championship roster during the 1977 season.

Honorable Mention partners Dr. William Johnson, Damian Lillard, JR Duperrier & David Lucas

“Dame is committed to this Portland community and committed to giving back,” said David Lucas, founder and executive director of The Maurice Lucas Foundation.“Dame is stamping his roots in this city.”

With the lounge now open for business, and Lillard is hoping that Honorable Mention can equally leave its mark on the city of Portland for years to come.

“Now that I’m in a later stage in my career, I want to involve myself in things that can help the city. This is the start of trying to build in that direction,” framed Lillard. “We’re trying to help build Portland back up one thing at a time.”

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Photography via Evan Luecke.