Damian Lillard has often faced consequences for sticking to his principles. For a long time, he was a symbol of loyalty in the NBA. During his prime, he watched his contemporaries form alliances on their chosen teams and compete for championships. One of them, Kevin Durant, even mocked Lillard`s teammate, CJ McCollum, for believing the Portland Trail Blazers had a chance at a title. But Lillard remained faithful to the club, giving the Blazers every opportunity to help him contend for a title the “old-fashioned” way. Apart from a fortunate run to the Western Conference finals, he never came particularly close.
When he finally decided to dip his toes into the “player empowerment” waters, they proved choppier than for many other superstars. He wanted to play only for the Miami Heat and no one else. He likely assumed, given the success of many other players in forcing trades to desired teams, that he would eventually get his way. Obviously, that didn`t happen.
The Blazers refused Miami`s offer. So Lillard ended up in Milwaukee. It was a setback, but not a catastrophe. He had never had a teammate like Giannis Antetokounmpo, and he could compete for a title in Milwaukee. At least, that`s how it seemed.
It turned out that coach Adrian Griffin, whom Antetokounmpo had advocated for before Lillard`s arrival, wasn`t ready for the job. He was fired after 44 games. Lillard`s former coach in Portland, Terry Stotts, left the Bucks before the 2023-24 season began after a disagreement with Griffin during practice. Khris Middleton, Antetokounmpo`s sidekick during the 2021 championship run, couldn`t stay healthy. Brook Lopez, the defensive anchor of that team, began to age quickly. The contender Lillard thought he was joining ultimately lost in the first round to the Indiana Pacers.
Facing the Pacers in the first round again this year, they were heading towards a repeat scenario. Lillard was fully justified in sitting out the series for medical reasons. Less than six weeks prior, Lillard had been sidelined due to deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. This health situation transcends basketball – the most severe cases can end careers. The best prognosis typically involves recovery ranging from six months to a year. But Lillard, wanting to give his team a fighting chance, made a historic recovery and was able to return for Game 2 against Indiana.
He wasn`t his usual self, which was to be expected. In an era defined by load management and injury caution, Lillard did everything possible to give his undermanned Bucks team, which no one considered a viable title contender anymore, a tiny chance against the team that eliminated them last year. His reward for this, sadly, appears to be a career-altering injury.
In the first quarter of his team`s Game 4 loss, falling behind 3-1 in the series, Lillard attempted to chase an offensive rebound but collapsed to the court, clutching his lower left leg. He was immediately helped off the court, and the outlook appears grim. According to Chris Haynes, there are fears he tore his left Achilles tendon. After the game, Bucks coach Doc Rivers told reporters that Lillard`s prognosis is “not very promising.”
Medically speaking, there`s no link to the blood clot in his right calf, other than perhaps the loss of conditioning resulting from being sidelined for over a month. But if Lillard had done what many other players would have, if he had prioritized caution in his recovery and taken his time, he wouldn`t even have been on the court Sunday to suffer the injury. He wanted to give his team a chance, and he was punished for it.
“The guy tried to come back for his team. I just felt bad for him,” Rivers said. “This is tough. A blood clot followed by this. It`s just tough. He`s such a great guy – on a basketball level, but more importantly as a teammate, father, and all that. Nobody deserves it, but golly, you just look at him – and that`s why I feel bad. It`s just tough.”
What`s Next for Damian Lillard?
Lillard`s career isn`t over. Players can return after an Achilles tear. It`s just rare that they return as the same player. Kevin Durant and Dominique Wilkins came as close as anyone ever has, but they were both big forwards. Lillard is a small guard, reliant on his speed and agility. History is not kind to guards who suffer this injury. Lillard is 34. That`s the same age Kobe Bryant was when he tore his Achilles in 2012. Bryant was never the same after that. Neither was Chauncey Billups, who tore his Achilles at 35 and played only 41 more games in the NBA afterward.
There have been unusually quick returns from torn Achilles tendons. The best example is Lillard`s former teammate, Wes Matthews Jr. He sustained the injury in March 2015 and was able to start the season opener for the Dallas Mavericks that October. However, he was never quite the same player and is an outlier. Durant missed the entire 2019-20 season. Klay Thompson also took a year. That`s the norm.
If Lillard misses the next year, he`ll be back for opening night in 2026 at the age of 36. He`ll be playing for a Bucks team that will likely look very different. Only three other Bucks players are currently under contract for the 2026-27 season: Tyler Smith, Kyle Kuzma, and Antetokounmpo. Given Antetokounmpo`s hints about wanting to contend for championships again and the rumors that have followed, it`s unclear if he`ll be willing to wait a year for a potentially compromised Lillard to return.
It`s possible we`ve seen the last of the superstar version of Lillard we`ve watched for the past decade and a half. He will likely be a different player, in some way, when he returns. Different likely means worse. But it doesn`t necessarily mean bad. Fortunately, Lillard is so good that he would need to decline significantly before he stopped providing value to a team. Shooting ages well, at least, and Lillard does it better than most. Chris Paul barely moves but just played all 82 games at 39 years old. It`s possible Lillard still has plenty of great basketball left in him. Hopefully, that`s the case. He deserves a happier final chapter than this.
Jasper Hawthorne