All-Star point guard Damian Lillard recalled how Portland Trail Blazers late-owner Paul Allen helped his music career during the early stages, opening his personal studio for his player to use.

ā€œWe was doing free agency meetings and they flew me to L.A.,ā€ said Lillard as a guest of Chris Haynes' Posted Up podcast. ā€œWe met at his house in Beverly Hills because we was trying to get [LaMarcus Aldridge] to come back. He showed me the studio. The keyboard was crazy ā€” it was better than any studio I've ever recorded in even after that to this day.

ā€œSo I was like, ā€˜man, I'm gonna have to come here and record. He was like ā€˜just let me know'ā€

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The Blazers guard would go on to record his first singleĀ ā€œSoldier in the Gameā€ on July 2015 via SoundCloud, only to later release his full debut album ā€œThe Letter Oā€ on October 2016.

Allen was close with Lillard, fond of his disposition and his competitive mentality, while still having a firm grasp of the big picture and the things that are important in life.

Lillard often went back to his native city of Oakland to host fundraising events and camps, after doing the same in the Portland area ā€” a mission that resonated with Allen's philanthropic efforts.