It was Dame Time for USMNT striker Folarin Balogun on Saturday.
The U.S. attack rolled against Haiti in the first leg of the two nations' Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal tie, producing six goals for a 6-0 rout. The last of that scoring barrage came off the foot of Balogun, who entered the game off the bench in the 66th minute before scoring in the 82nd.
And after the star forward found the back of the net, he had a very specific celebration in mind: Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard's iconic "Dame Time" motion. Balogun pointed to his wrist repeatedly as he ran toward a gaggle of USMNT substitutes in celebration.
Following the game, Balogun took to X to further underscore his tribute, posting a clip of the celebration and a photo of Lillard doing the motion.
https://t.co/tEMjEiBdS4
— Balogun (@balogun) November 15, 2026
It wasn't the only time Balogun brought out the celebration on Saturday afternoon -- the forward had also done the motion after a 75th-minute goal, but that tally was disallowed after a VAR review.
It's also not the first time Balogun has turned to memorable NBA celebrations for inspiration after scoring. After he opened the scoring for the U.S. against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup round of 32, Balogun did LeBron James' "silencer" motion. Coincidentally, that celebration also became official on the second attempt -- he had done it on a prior disallowed goal in that game, too.