Is Dame Lillard set to do the unexpected again? He won the three-point skill challenge despite still being injured in February. And well, two months later, the NBA veteran is making headlines again. That’s because the possibility of him returning this season for the Blazers hasn’t been ruled out yet. It will be the first time he dons the Portland jersey since March 22, 2023. This entire Rip City narrative stems from three things: the interim head coach’s words, the franchise’s cryptic social media post, and a few inside sources shedding light on the matter.
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Monday will mark the one-year date since Damian Lillard last played meaningful basketball. Without him, though, Portland has already qualified for the playoffs and beaten the Spurs in Game 2 to keep the series alive at 1-1. The 35-year-old guard has so far declined media requests to discuss his rehab directly. However, here are some positive internal updates.
“A source said Lillard is “close” and that his return before the end of the postseason is “not impossible,”” Bill Oram of The Oregonian wrote. “Any appearance would need to be in a later round or “deep, deep” in the series against the Spurs. At a minimum, the team is being open-minded about the possibility.” Now, the interesting part is that the interim head coach did not outright rule Dame Time out. Earlier this week, the Blazers also teased a return by posting a video of Lillard shooting on the court in San Antonio with the furtive eyes emoji…
“He’s working out,” Tiago Splitter said following practice on Thursday. “He’s trying to get ready to play. When that’s going to be, we don’t know. All I can say is that he’s working out as he always does. Whatever you guys saw on that film is what he’s been doing the last two or three months. He’s working every day. He’s the first one to get to the practice facility every day at 7 a.m., shooting a thousand shots, drills, that’s who Dame is.” Then came the follow-up question about his participation against the Spurs. The answer was very, very interesting.
“Probably not,” Splitter said. Those two words left plenty of room for interpretation and plenty of hope for Rip City. ““I wouldn’t rule anything out,” a source said, “or get too excited about anything,”” Oram wrote. Lillard, who won his third three-point contest at the All-Star Weekend, would need to clear several fitness hurdles to get back on the floor. He has not reportedly resumed playing full-court basketball. Dame tore his Achilles tendon in Game 4 of Milwaukee’s first-round playoff series against Indiana. It was 13 days before Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon, who made an emphatic return to play on March 6.
Lillard was averaging 24.9 points and 7.1 assists while shooting nearly 45% from the field and 37.6% from deep across 58 starts before getting injured. Milwaukee then decided to make a strong move by moving on from him, and the financial burden for someone who wasn’t going to play. But league sources then told The Athletic that Dame was elated with the Bucks’ decision to waive and stretch his contract, as it put him in a basketball-first position. He then signed a new three-year, $45 million deal with the Blazers. His decision also stemmed from wanting to spend more time in Oregon with his family.
“We got back in the car (after signing the contract),” Lillard said back in 2025, “I got to a red light, and my daughter goes, ‘Wait, we don’t have to get on the airplane to Milwaukee no more? You’re gonna be in your house? In Portland? The whole time?’” Now that Lillard has gotten his fair share of rest, and as he continues rehabbing, here’s how his teammates feel about the raving narrative of him returning to the hardwood.
“Dame’s game on the court speaks for itself,” Deni Avdija told Oram. “I think he’s a great player, he adds a lot of shooting, he adds a lot of experience. He’s been in a lot of big moments, and we definitely need him. I think it’s going to be even better, you never know, but it’s definitely a great player to have back.” Robert Williams III also shared that Dame is working hard every day and is not taking anything for granted. “His health comes first, so we’re obviously backing him up. But we’ve joked about that every day for months now,” Williams concluded. Soon, the joke could become a reality, as all signs point to it.
The Blazers already have Avdija, an All-Star who leads the team in points (24.2) and assists (6.7). Then there is the emergence of Donovan Clingan as one of the league’s brightest young centers, and let’s not forget Scoot Henderson developing into a defensive force and a knockdown shooter. This trio is already carrying the load, and all they would need is limited minutes and Dame’s clutch sniping ability to win any game. The idea of his comeback is similar to Brandon Roy’s gutsy return to the court in the 2011 playoffs, just eight days after arthroscopic surgery to repair his meniscus.
This ongoing first-round series has already extended to a Game 5, with Victor Wembanyama suffering a concussion in Game 2 and his availability in question. The next Game 3 matchup on Friday at Moda Center can go in Portland’s favor. Game 4 will be at the same venue. Now, the fifth game (likely the decider of whether we need two more games) in the series could be the designated soft return date, if there is one currently under discussion with the medical staff. Game 6 (home game for Portland) and Game 7 are chalked in to take place on April 29 and May 1, respectively.
