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Damian Lillard is back to where it all started, as the future Basketball Hall of Famer decided to return to the Portland Trail Blazers after a stint with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Unlike when he first arrived on the team, Lillard is now the grizzled veteran brimming with experience and advice he can impart to his much younger teammates. His voice will matter more than what he can contribute to the floor in his first season back with the Blazers, as the 35-year-old guard is expected to miss a big portion — if not all — of the 2025-26 campaign due to a devastating lower-body injury he suffered in the 2025 NBA Playoffs with the Bucks.
Lillard sustained the injury during Bucks' first-round meeting with Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers. The initial fear at the time of his injury was that it was an Achilles tear, which was later confirmed.
Despite learning the severity of his injury, Damian Lillard kept his emotions in check and did not shed a tear, according to Bill Oram of The Oregonian. Milwaukee's physical therapist was close to tearing up, but the nine-time NBA All-Star seemingly skipped the phase where he's supposed to feel miserable, as his mind drifted to somewhere else.
“It wasn’t like a prideful thing, I just, my mind automatically went to, like, I’ve got to fight for something,” Lillard shared. “I know it’s going to be a long journey, I know it’s a challenge mentally. And I kind of shifted right there to what I knew was coming and then it was just kind of learning more about it.”
The Blazers traded Lillard to Milwaukee in a three-team swap involving the Phoenix Suns in 2023. Lillard landed in a suitable situation in terms of his pursuit of an NBA championship, but he and Giannis Antetokounmpo ultimately didn't lead the Bucks to an NBA title during his stint in Cream City. In two seasons in Bucks threads, Lillard averaged 24.6 points on a 43.4 percent shooting from the floor, 7.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds through 131 total games.
With the Trail Blazers again, Damian Lillard finds himself surrounded by a blend of youth and experience. But before he sets his foot again on the court in a Portland uniform, the former Weber State Wildcats star will go through a long rehab and recovery journey.
