CHANCES are you’ve heard the name Damian Lillard without ever really having a reason to take a genuine interest.

The Forbes rich list of the world’s highest paid athletes for 2017 changes that.

Lillard, the Portland Trailblazers guard, has seemingly out of nowhere become the sixth highest-paid basketballer and the 15th highest paid athlete on the planet right now.

The rich list reports Lillard earned a stunning $38.4 million last year — the bulk of it coming from his NBA salary.

According to Forbes he earned $24 .4 million from the Blazers last year and a further $14 million from sponsorship deals.

He is also the youngest athlete in the top 15 of the annual list of the world’s highest paid athletes.

It is not a fluke.

Lillard was the No. 6 selection in the 2012 NBA Draft and immediately showed it was a steal for Portland to grab him so low in the draft.

He was the 2012-13 season rookie of the year and he’s never looked back.

He is a two-time NBA All Star and he was last season picked in the 2016 All-NBA Second team, naming him the second best shooting guard in the league last season behind 2016 MVP Steph Curry.

The third and sixth highest earning players in the NBA. Source: AFP

You may not care about that, but you may be interested to hear about the clauses and bonuses his selection in the All-NBA Second Team unlocked in his playing contract with the Blazers.

That clause-activation took the 26-year-old from Oakland, California, above the likes of golf legend Tiger Woods, Brazilian football star Neymar and UFC superstar Conor McGregor on the Forbes rich list of the world’s highest paid athletes last year.

In the NBA, only LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, James Harden and Russell Westbrook earned more money for the year.

At the time of his contract upgrade in August last year, Lillard’s contract with Portland was reported by some media outlets to be the second biggest contract in the game’s history.

In 2015, Lillard agreed to a mammoth five-year $120 million extension with the Trailblazers but his selection in the all-NBA second team activated the clause which bumped the deal up to more than $150 million across the duration of his contract.

12 months before signing that deal Lillard was the huge winner of sports shoe giant adidas panicking about the stock of NBA stars signed to its label.

Portland is slightly out of sight out of mind. Source: AFP

With Nike holding off huge interest from adidas and Under Armour to hold onto Kevin Durant as a leading Nike ambassador in 2014, Lillard signed another monster 10-year sneaker deal with adidas, reportedly worth $100 million.

Since signing that deal, adidas has released three different versions of Lillard’s own signature shoe range — The Dame.

His latest version, an alteration of The Dame 3, released in 2016, was re-released earlier this year.

Adidas is not his only money spinner off the court — far from it.

Forbes reports Lillard’s stable of commercial partners includes Spalding, Powerade, JBL, Moda Health, Panini, Coach, State Farm, McDonald’s and Toyota.

The Lillard brand has been flying even if you didn’t know it.

On the court Lillard helped push the Blazers to their fourth consecutive playoffs appearance, but they were swatted straight out of the post-season after being swept by the Golden State Warriors in the opening round.

Lillard starred, putting up a team-high average of 27.8 points per game this season.

But, in the era of the NBA super teams, including the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, he may need some support to go further in the playoffs next season.

At least now, you have a reason to care the next time you come across the name Damian Lillard.