He’s helping award scholarships to students at nine East Bay high schools if they choose to attend Portland State, a nod to the city where his NBA career began.

That’s the news from Portland State University today, which announced that the former Trail Blazer and current Milwaukee Buck has launched the Damian Lillard Scholars program. The Portland State scholarship is for $25,000 per year and available to students graduating from nine East Bay high schools.

So far, 27 Damian Lillard Scholar-eligible students have applied to Portland State for the 2025-26 academic year. Fifteen have been admitted. Six are from Oakland High School, where they joined Lillard to announce the program at a school assembly.

Oakland native and NBA All-Star player Damian Lillard returned to his roots Thursday at his alma mater Oakland High School to announce a $25,000 student scholarship. Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks announced the partnership with Portland State University for The PSU Damian Lillard Scholarship,