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Few NBA players have the ties to Oakland that Damian Lillard<\/a> does. Despite spending his entire career with the Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>, the three-time All-Star is a vital piece of Bay Area sports history, and has a strong connection with the Golden State Warriors<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lillard<\/a> was born and raised in Oakland, and starred at Oakland High School. And as a kid, he spent many nights at Oracle Arena, watching the Warriors long before the titles started flowing into the rafters.<\/p>\n Mark Medina of the Mercury News<\/em><\/a> caught up with Lillard ahead of the Thursday night matchup between Golden State and Portland, and learned some incredible stories about the point guard going to games as a kid, including easily getting past security to eat media meals and grab autographs from players. <\/p>\n But the most important part came when Lillard<\/a> talked about how the success of the team has priced out so many of the fans that made Oracle a rocking house, even during the 20-win seasons.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the real Warriors fans, a lot of times they can\u2019t go to the games,\u201d said Lillard<\/a>, who still has a huge contingency of family in the area. \u201cThey can\u2019t 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\u2019t able to get into the games.\u201d<\/p>\n That is, of course, the price of success. But Lillard isn\u2019t wrong, and he\u2019s certainly not alone in lamenting that change. Success is good, but it has its side effects. <\/p>\n Barring a postseason matchup, Thursday night\u2019s game between the Warriors and Blazers will be the last time that Lillard plays at the arena he visited as a kid, as Golden State will move to the Chase Center in San Francisco next season. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n