When did the phrase "Dame Time" come to notice? Exploring origins of the viral celebration via Damian Lillard himself in 2018 video

Almost every NBA fan is familiar with "Dame Time." The phrase was coined by Damian Lillard, an amazing Portland Trail Blazers guard who is well known for making big-time shots in the fourth quarter and overtime.

However, the phrase did not start in the NBA. Despite his reputation as a cold-blooded killer in the professional basketball league, the guard was amazing in clutch long before he was drafted.

"Dame Time" originated when Lillard was 16. Back then, he was a high school player in Oakland, California. Ever since then, the talented star has been a destructive force.

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"Dame Time" has followed Damian Lillard since his high school days

The phrase originates from Lillard's days with the Oakland Rebels, his high school team. In the spring of 2006, the Rebels trailed the NorCal Magic by 20 points at halftime, and that's when Raymond Young, Lillard's coach, had a special task for the point guard.

“Can you even take over a game?” Young asked Lillard. “Do you even know how to do that? The time is here. Can you get it done?”

P.J. Taylor, who was Lillard's teammate at the time, believes that this was the beginning of "Dame Time."

Damian Lillard was ready for the takeover mission. He caught fire, making layups and pull-up shots one after another. Eventually, the Rebels were down by three points in the final minute and the point guard made a game-tying shot with just a second left in the game.

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The Rebels eventually lost the game. However, this was the day when "Dame Time" was born and the talented point guard has been very clutch ever since then. His cold-blooded daggers have earned the Trail Blazers many victories, including a victory over Paul George and the OKC Thunder in the 2019 playoffs.

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Damian Lillard's clutch stats in the 2022-23 season

Damian Lillard is among the favorites to win the scoring title in the 2022-23 season. In 47 games so far, he's averaged 32.3 points per game and is the third-best scorer, trailing only Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid.

The Trail Blazers guard has been on fire in his last 19 games, averaging 39.4 points on 51.8% shooting in this period. Unfortunately, his clutch stats are not as good as they were in the past few seasons.

Lillard has been incredible in the 2022-23 season (Image via Getty Images)

Lillard has appeared in 24 clutch games this season and is the 24th-best clutch scorer in the league with 3.1 points. He's converted 39.6% of his clutch shots, including 32.0% from long range.

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To put this into perspective, Lillard led the league in clutch scoring in the 2020-21 season. He averaged 4.8 points on 51.1% shooting in the clutch and the Trail Blazers had a net rating of +2.9 thanks to him.