Damian Lillard Reflects on Oracle Arena as Warriors Set to Move

Before he became the star of the Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard was just a normal Oakland resident going to Golden State Warriors games at Oracle Arena with his family. Now, the Warriors are set to move from Oracle to the new Chase Center in San Francisco. Mark Medina of The Mercury News asked Lillard about the move prior to the Blazers’ game in Oakland:

“I don’t really think about it. The building really is more significant to my childhood than me playing there,” Lillard said. “When I come here, I’m playing in my hometown. When they start to come to San Francisco, my family is still going to come there either way. But the memories of it and what it used to be is going to be different.”

However, Lillard is sympathetic to fans whose team is moving:

“They’re upset about it. It’s one of those things where success comes and you’re going to up and move,” Lillard said. “A lot of the real Warriors fans, a lot of times they can’t go to the games. They can’t afford it. At that time, we were able to go to the games. Nowadays, a really good ticket is way more expensive to do everything. The people who are real Warriors fans aren’t able to get into the games.”

You can read more about Lillard’s childhood connection to Oracle here.