NBA star Damian Lillard believes the children growing up in his “rough” hometown neighborhood in Oakland are now exposed to more “bad” influences than he experienced growing up. He was so forced to return.

Lillard claims that in his early years, “drugs and crime” were commonplace in the Brookfield neighbourhood, which is located in the eastern section of the city. The neighbourhood park and leisure centre offered nothing in the way of sporting goods for him and his pals.  As a six-time NBA All-Star, Damian Lillard wants to provide for local kids what he was denied as a child.

Lillard says of his family, “We didn’t have the resources like that, but we had each other,” and he attributes a lot of his success to them.

In an interview with PEOPLE as part of his collaboration with sneaker company KICKS CREW, Portland’s star guard explained that his family’s “balance of love, care, and compassion” is what kept him out of trouble. “That, mixed with the level of accountability, just kept me going in the right way,” he states.

He says that “having people around me that held me accountable for everything” helped him stay accountable. “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.'”.Crew Courtesy Kicks

However, as a teenager, witnessing how some of his “older cousins” handled “struggles and issues” as they grew older helped him Lillard “in the right direction”.

Lillard tells others that “learning how to be compassionate and care about people, to be a team player,” was a major part of his early years. “I had the right type of people around me.”

As a father of three now, Lillard has observed a shift in Brookfield’s early years.

“Kids are doing things at an earlier age than we were,” he remarks, alluding to the normalisation of actions that he remembers as “just not okay at all” as a child.Lillard wants to be an example for Brookfield because he is the NBA 2K21 cover star, a distinction shared by only the best players in the game, like as LeBron James and Devin Booker.

Lillard says, “I know what’s needed.” “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 says he thinks he “can provide some real inspiration” for Oakland’s youth. “I engaged in the same conflicts as they do. I know how crucial it is to have that kind of presence, which is why it’s so important to me as an adult.”

And he exudes “presence” in abundance. Over the offseason, Lillard and KICKS CREW brought a truck full of sneakers and shirts to surprise the next generation of Brookfield’s aspiring athletes.”We were able to get out to my neighbourhood, 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 says. “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.”

Being able to “make an impact” and support the “kids that grew up on the same soil that” he did is Lillard’s top priority at this stage in his career. Lillard was selected by the Portland franchise in the 2012 NBA Draft and has played for them ever since.

“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 continues.