Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard revealed that he had another choice for his jersey statement before the NBA forced them to pick from its list.

On Twitter, Lillard admitted that he wanted to wear “Oscar Grant” as his jersey statement. However, the NBA released a list of pre-approved words and phrases that players can use. He eventually chose “How Many More.”

The Blazers guard wanted to honor the late Oscar Grant, his fellow Oakland native. In the early hours of New Year's day in 2009, Grant was detained by several police officers at the Fruitvale BART station.

BART officer Anthony Pirone kneeled on Grant's head and forced him to lie face down on the floor. Meanwhile, another officer — Johannes Mehserle — drew his gun and shot the unarmed Grant in the back. Grant was immediately rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead hours later. He was 22 years old.

Grant's tragic death was turned into the film “Fruitvale Station” in 2013, directed by Ryan Coogler.

Damian Lillard is just one among the several players whose request was not granted by the league. Like the Blazers All-Star, some players already had a word/phrase they wanted as their statement. Perhaps the most famous is Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat, who wanted to don a nameless jersey. According to him, he's no different from any other African-American man if it wasn't for his stature today as a basketball star.

Dame may not have had his request granted as he suit up for the Blazers, but his millions of followers now know that he wanted to honor Grant.