Nine-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard is bringing free backpacks and new basketball courts back to the East Oakland recreation center, where he once trained every single day as a kid. The Oakland-born and Oakland-raised guard is sponsoring a backpack giveaway at the Ira Jinkins Recreation Center next Saturday, running from noon to 5 p.m., and he's also funding renovations that include major upgrades to the center's basketball courts.
According to The Mercury News, the backpacks will include school supplies for children in the local community and will be available while supplies last. The event itself will feature games, music, and food, turning a school-supply handout into a neighborhood block party at the recreation center located at 9175 Edes Avenue in East Oakland.
Lillard's connection to the address runs deep. As a youth, he frequented the Ira Jinkins Recreation Center every day, and in a 2020 profile, he recalled taking 98th Avenue to Edes Avenue to train there before playing rec league games at Rainbow Rec Center, per The Ringer. He went on to attend Oakland High School before his college and NBA career took off, part of a lineage of hoops talent from the city that also includes Bill Russell, who attended McClymonds High, and Gary Payton, a Skyline High alum.
A Court Named in His Honor
The upcoming renovations follow a milestone the city already marked in Lillard's honor. Ahead of NBA All-Star Weekend in the Bay Area last year, the City of Oakland officially dedicated a basketball court at the Ira Jinkins Recreation Center to Lillard, recognizing his childhood ties to the facility, according to the Oakland Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission. During that same February 2025 visit, Lillard unveiled the PSU Scholarship, a $25,000-per-year initiative created with Portland State University for eligible high school students across nine East Bay schools.
These back-to-school gatherings at Brookfield Park and the Ira Jinkins Recreation Center are held in memory of Lillard's late grandfather, Albert Johnson, and typically combine supply distributions with obstacle courses, games, and live music, according to footage shared by the NBA. The September 5 event carries that same format forward as part of what research shows is an ongoing, multi-year philanthropic commitment to East Oakland rather than a one-off appearance.
Inside the Ira Jinkins Recreation Center
The recreation center itself carries its own local history. It's part of the William Bill Patterson Park complex, which includes a collegiate-level gymnasium and sits beside the 22,500-square-foot East Oakland Sports Center that opened in 2011. The building's exterior also features a 40-by-160-foot community mural titled Healthy Lifestyles, created by artist Jos Sances using portraits of local East Oakland residents.
The center's namesake, Ira Jinkins, was a prominent Oakland civil rights activist who organized West Coast Martin Luther King Jr. marches and led efforts to establish the MLK Regional Shoreline Park, according to the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center.
Timing Lines Up With Back-to-School Costs
The date is notable given the school calendar. Oakland Unified School District set its official start date for the 2026–2027 academic year for August 10, meaning Lillard's giveaway lands nearly four weeks into the semester, functioning as a mid-year resupply for families still covering school costs.
That timing matters in East Oakland's 94603 ZIP code, where U.S. Census Bureau data cited by CalMatters showed a median household income below $53,000 and child poverty near 30 percent. Districtwide, roughly 82 percent of Oakland Unified students qualify for California supplemental funding as low-income students, English learners, or foster youth as of early this year, according to reporting by The Oaklandside. Lillard's investment in both the giveaway and the court renovations lands squarely in a neighborhood where those numbers translate into real strain on families heading into the school year.
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