The Milwaukee Bucks are set to play the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night in Portland. For Damian Lillard, it will surely be an emotional game after he spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Blazers.

The Bucks superstar spoke about his impending return to Portland with Aaron Fentress of OregonLive/The Oregonian:

“Lillard, the person, desperately sought to remain in Portland for his entire career. Lillard, the player, came to the realization that if he wanted to play for a winner, he had to go. The decision and eventual outcome that landed him in Milwaukee stung. Portland is where his family resides. It’s where his heart remains. For those reasons, he expects a tapestry of emotions to surge through him when he walks onto the Moda Center court on Wednesday.”

Lillard also spoke about his love for Blazers fans despite being all-in on winning a championship with the Bucks.

“I think it’ll always be like any emotional thing just because I loved living and playing in Portland,” Lillard said after the team’s Monday shootaround. “I never had plans to not play for the Blazers. So, I think because of that being a genuine feeling, I don’t think it will ever leave. But I think sometimes you’ve got to make hard decisions for what you want ultimately.”

And that, for Lillard, was to compete for a championship, something he determined would not happen in Portland.

“The Blazers just weren’t in a time where winning a championship was possible or what was able to be done at the time,” he said. “While I’m my best self, I want to be able to play for that.”

The Bucks star believes it will be emotional for him.

“I think it will be emotional because I care,” Lillard said. “I loved playing in Portland. I loved living there and still live there. I’m not like a big crier. I don’t think I’ll be crying, and all of that. But I care. Everything I ever said about my time in Portland playing there, I meant that s—. So, yeah, it will be.”

The Blazers host the Bucks on Wednesday night from Moda Center.