Damian Lillard was dropping dimes across the NBA throughout the regular season as he led the Portland Trail Blazers to an unexpected Western Conference semi-finals series with the Golden State Warriors.
Having fallen to the defending champions in five games, Lillard has the summer to rest and recuperate before returning to help Portland kick on from their simply incredible 2015-16 campaign.
The new-look Blazers have taken off and will now be looked upon as a perennial playoff contender under the guidance of Dame, and it appears the point guard's rapping career could be about to follow suit.
Some people may have only seen Dame's microphone ability in the State Farm commercials - easily accessible on YouTube - that involve DeAndre Jordan sporting a dress and blonde wig, but the 25-year-old has had a passion for music for some time.
His Soundcloud page has tracks on there from over a year ago, but his days of making music stretch back beyond the creation of his online account. He has amassed 41.1k followers since opening his page on the music streaming site and released his latest track 'Talk To Em' yesterday.
Dame D.O.L.L.A's latest release already has over 120,000 plays and it appears to have attracted interest from a number of record labels, according to TMZ.
The celebrity news outlet claims that Lillard's agent Aaron Goodwin told them he had been approached by 'several major labels' but the camp was not in any rush to make a decision.
"We've put it on hold until the summer," Goodwin said. "We will explore those options versus starting his own label. A distribution partner is really what's needed."
Listening to some of his tracks, it does not take long to realise that Lillard has skills behind the mic. In a league full of baller-rappers, he may, in fact, be the best.
The 2013 Rookie of the Year uses his music as a platform to connect with people and often raps about his experiences of growing up in Oakland, California.
It's clear to see the two-time All-Star has more talent than some of the other famous names in NBA-past to be signed up to a record deal. Of course, the two that spring to mind are Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.
The less said about Kobe's time behind the mic, the better, and he was soon dropped by Sony. However, Shaq enjoyed more success, releasing five studio albums, and gaining platinum certification for his debut album 'Shaq Diesel'. Although, his abilities as a rapper were called into question.
Hopefully, Dame D.O.L.L.A can enjoy more success, although, a platinum album does not sound too bad.
