“I know how important it is for them to see someone who is not only successful, but also someone who can talk about the same kind of environment and upbringing,” the NBA star says. Damian Lillard thinks that kids growing up in his “rough” Oakland neighborhood are now exposed to more “bad” influences than he was. That’s why he felt he had to go back.

When Lillard was young, there were a lot of “drugs and crime” near his home in Brookfield, which is in the eastern part of the city. At the nearby park and leisure center, he and his friends didn’t have easy access to sports gear.

Lillard, who has been an NBA All-Star six times, wants to give kids in the area what he didn’t have when he was a kid.

Lillard says, “We didn’t have those resources, but we had each other.” He also says that his family is a big part of his success.

A star guard for Portland told PEOPLE that the “balance of love, care, and compassion” his family showed him kept him out of trouble. He was speaking as part of his relationship with shoe store KICKS CREW. “That, mixed with the level of accountability, just kept me going in the right way,” he shares.

He says, “Having people around me that held me accountable for everything” made him responsible. “It was like I knew right from wrong because it was constantly being put in front of me like, ‘You know better,’ and ‘Don’t do this, you shouldn’t be doing this, this is why.'”

Lillard wants to be an example for Brookfield because he was on the cover of NBA 2K21—a feat only the best players, like LeBron James and Devin Booker, can claim.

Lillard says, “I know what needs to be done.” “I know how important it is for them to see somebody that is not only successful but somebody that can also speak on the same type of environment and upbringing.”

Lillard wants to set a good example for Brookfield because he was on the cover of NBA 2K21. Only LeBron James and Devin Booker, two of the best players in the world, can say that.

As Lillard puts it, “I know what needs to be done.” “I know how important it is for them to see somebody that is not only successful but somebody that can also speak on the same type of environment and upbringing.”

He says that Lillard thinks he “can provide some real inspiration” for the kids in Oakland. “I’ve been through the same things they have. Why is it so important to me as an adult? Because I know how valuable it is to have that kind of presence.His “presence” is great. During the off-season, Lillard and KICKS CREW took a truck full of sneakers and shirts to Brookfield to surprise the next generation of athletes-to-be.”We were able to get out to my neighborhood, touch kids that grew up on the same soil that I grew up on, give out some shoes, give out some shirts, be present, and I’m big on that,” he talks about. “So the partnership is off to a great start and I’m also excited to just be a part of the growth of Kicks crew and bring what I can to the table, but also learn some things on the journey.”Lillard was chosen by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2012 and has played his whole career there. At this point in his career, he wants to “make an impact” and give back to the “kids that grew up on the same soil that” he did.”I’ve just reached the point where the most important thing to me is giving back and lifting people up and having an impact on people,” he shares.More than anything else, Lillard wants people to believe in him, especially the brands he works with and the causes he supports. It’s not enough for Lillard to be “some NBA star that could bring attention to” something.”I want people to believe in who I am as an athlete, but also it’s more important to me that they believe in who I am,” he shares. In Lillard’s words, that means being “a person of high character.””What you see is what you get” is how Lillard describes himself. He is “all about doing things for others.” He says that after ten years in the NBA, he knows that “the people and things I care about are happy.””The more that I realize that,” he explains, “the more that I dove into being a part of those types of thing, and also lining myself up with partners and friends and people that feel the same way.”