Even with Steph Curry sidelined from All-Star Weekend due to injury, the Bay Area still had a reason to stand up and cheer. Oakland’s own Damian Lillard reminded the basketball world that greatness doesn’t fade-it just waits for its moment.
Lillard hasn’t played a single NBA minute this season. A torn left Achilles last April benched him before the year even began, trading game nights for rehab routines, game tape, and the kind of quiet grind that doesn’t show up in highlight reels. No buzzer-beaters, no box scores, no signature Dame Time finishes-just resistance bands, repetition, and the long road back.
But on Saturday night at the Intuit Dome, Lillard stepped into the spotlight like he never left it.
With the lights bright and the pressure dialed all the way up, Lillard delivered a performance that was vintage Dame-confident, controlled, and clutch. He dropped 29 points in the final round of the Three-Point Contest to edge out Devin Booker, who looked poised to steal it until his last three attempts rimmed out.
It was the kind of slow-building drama that doesn’t need theatrics to feel big. It just needed Lillard.
With that win, Lillard joined elite company-just the third player in NBA history to win the Three-Point Contest three times, alongside Larry Bird and Craig Hodges. Bird did it in the late '80s, Hodges in the early '90s.
Now Lillard's name sits right there with them, with titles in 2023, 2024, and now 2026. Different years, different situations, same smooth release.
That’s what makes this moment so special. While the rest of the league has been grinding through the season-legs heavy, rhythm honed through game reps-Lillard’s been sidelined, rebuilding from the ground up.
No games to fine-tune his timing, no defenders to keep him sharp. Just him, a ball, and a jumper he’s rehearsed enough times to make it second nature again.
“I came out here excited to do it,” Lillard said after the win. “I can’t say I knew I’d win but I came in confident. This is my sixth time doing it, this felt like a game to me.”
That’s the thing-six appearances means six opportunities to learn every nuance of the contest. The timing between racks.
The rhythm of the clock. When to speed up.
When to slow down. For Lillard, the pressure doesn’t feel foreign anymore-it feels familiar.
And there’s something poetic about that. A kid from Oakland, once watching All-Star Weekend from the stands, now owning the moment on one of the NBA’s biggest stages.
That hometown edge, that mix of precision and swagger, still travels with him. You can see it in the way he carries himself, in the calm between shots, in the smile that says he knows exactly who he is.
Even after the win, he admitted with a grin that he was “praying for [Booker’s] downfall” while watching the final shots. That’s not trash talk-it’s honesty.
Two elite shooters, fully locked in, knowing that real competition doesn’t come with pleasantries. It comes with fire.
For fans in Portland-and beyond-this wasn’t just about a trophy. After the trade to Milwaukee, after the Achilles injury that turned a season into a rehab story, seeing Lillard rise again on All-Star Saturday was more than symbolic.
It was a reminder. A statement.
That Dame Time isn’t dictated by the calendar or the box score. It’s a mindset.
A presence.
The shot? Still pure.
The confidence? Still unshakable.
The moment? Still his.
Damian Lillard doesn’t need a full season to show us who he is. Give him a ball, a rim, and a stage, and he’ll remind you why he’s one of the most electric players of his generation.
That’s not just a comeback. That’s Town Bizness.