Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard

Damian Lillard turned 36 on July 15, marking another milestone in a lengthy recovery from a torn left Achilles tendon that has kept the Portland Trail Blazers guard off the court for more than a year, with the team and player both continuing to target a full return when the 2026-27 NBA season opens this fall.

Lillard suffered the injury in Game 4 of Milwaukee's first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers on April 27, 2025, a non-contact injury that effectively ended the Bucks' postseason run and, ultimately, Lillard's tenure in Milwaukee. He underwent surgery days later, on May 2, 2025.

Where his recovery stands now

With training camp and preseason action approaching in the fall, all indications from the Blazers organization point toward Lillard being on track for his long-awaited return when the 2026-27 season tips off in October, closing out what has been a deliberate, more than yearlong rehabilitation process built around ensuring the nine-time All-Star returns to the court at or near his previous form.

The Blazers waived Lillard using a stretch provision shortly after his injury, a move that allowed him to return home to the franchise that originally drafted him in 2012. Portland signed him to a three-year, $42 million contract that includes a player option for the 2027-28 season and a no-trade clause, fully aware at the time that he would miss the entire 2025-26 campaign to focus exclusively on his recovery.

A season spent almost entirely in rehab, with one notable exception

Lillard did not appear in a single regular-season or postseason game for Portland during the 2025-26 campaign, sitting out the Blazers' first-round playoff exit to the San Antonio Spurs in April. Portland head coach Tiago Splitter confirmed to reporters on April 17 that Lillard would not play at any point during the postseason, formally closing the door on any possibility of an emergency in-season return.

Despite that full-season absence, Lillard made one high-profile on-court appearance in February, competing in and winning the NBA All-Star 3-point contest, his third career title in the event. Speaking afterward about where he stood in his recovery, Lillard described a deliberately cautious approach. "I'm at the stage where I'm testing it," Lillard said, according to NBA reporter Mark Medina, adding that he was focused on "making sure that he's doing honest testing" and "being patient with it."

Signs of physical progress through the spring

By early May, roughly a year after the injury, video shared publicly showed Lillard performing increasingly advanced basketball movements, including dunking and executing windmill dunks during individual workouts, a notable marker given the severity of the original injury. At his end-of-season exit interview, Lillard said he had already begun participating in 5-on-5 pickup basketball as part of his rehabilitation progression, another significant step toward a full return.

Throughout the process, Lillard has consistently pointed to the start of the 2026-27 season as his intended return timeline, rather than attempting any kind of accelerated postseason comeback despite persistent public speculation. Medical experts have noted that Achilles tendon recoveries for guards in their mid-30s typically require 12 to 18 months to fully regain explosiveness and confidence in game situations, a timeline broadly consistent with Lillard's own stated target.

Why Portland prioritized patience

Portland's front office has publicly supported Lillard's measured approach throughout the rehabilitation process, framing his full season away from competitive play as an investment in a stronger, more sustainable return for 2026-27 rather than rushing him back for a lost-cause postseason run. The Blazers finished the 2025-26 season in the play-in tournament, ultimately falling short of a deeper playoff push, a result that added further logic to the decision not to bring Lillard back for what would have been a low-stakes, high-risk appearance.

The organization's approach also reflects broader league trends around Achilles injuries in recent years, with other prominent players, including Boston's Jayson Tatum and Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton, dealing with similar injuries around the same period, prompting wider conversations across the NBA about recovery timelines, load management and the long-term physical toll of the injury on elite athletes.

No formal date has been set for when Lillard will begin participating in training camp activities, though the target remains full participation when Portland's preseason schedule begins in the fall, followed by a return to game action for opening night in October. Lillard has expressed confidence that he will be able to return to something close to his prior All-Star level once cleared for full competitive play, and has spoken about his broader goal of sustaining a high level of performance for the remainder of his career rather than settling for a diminished role following the injury.

As Lillard's recovery enters its final stretch before training camp, Portland's roster around him has also continued to take shape, with the team building out its young core, including forward Deni Avdija, during his season-long absence. How quickly Lillard can integrate into that group once healthy, and how close he comes to his pre-injury form, are likely to be among the most closely watched storylines of Portland's upcoming season.

For now, the update on Lillard's recovery remains a positive one: more than 14 months removed from surgery, the veteran guard continues progressing toward a full return, with his 36th birthday serving as one more marker along a rehabilitation path that both player and team have approached with deliberate patience rather than urgency.

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