Damian Lillard Injury Update: Blazers Star Targets 2026-27 Return After Left Achilles Tear, Turns 36

Damian Lillard turns 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, an injury that effectively ended the Bucks' postseason run and, ultimately, Lillard's tenure in Milwaukee. He underwent surgery days later, on May 2, 2025. The Bucks waived Lillard that summer using a stretch provision, a move ESPN reported was made to clear salary-cap space for the acquisition of center Myles Turner, setting up what became one of the more emotional storylines of the NBA offseason: Lillard's return home to Portland, the franchise that drafted him ninth overall in 2012 and where he spent 11 seasons as the face of the organization.

At his reintroduction news conference alongside general manager Joe Cronin and then-head coach Chauncey Billups, Lillard reflected on the significance of returning to the only organization where he said he always envisioned finishing his career. "It never felt right, not being home," Lillard said. "I never wanted to not be playing for this organization. To be back in this community, it all just feels right." Cronin echoed that sentiment, saying, "It never felt right seeing Damian in a different jersey." Lillard signed a three-year, $42 million contract with the Blazers that includes a player option for the 2027-28 season and a no-trade clause, giving him the flexibility to devote the entire 2025-26 campaign to recovery if necessary.

That flexibility proved necessary. Both the Blazers and Lillard have consistently ruled out a return during the 2025-26 season, treating it as a dedicated rehabilitation year rather than pushing for an accelerated timeline. Lillard has spoken candidly about the discipline required during that process, describing early mornings spent largely alone in the team's practice facility. "I'm showing up in the building at 6:30, 7:00 AM every day because I don't want to get in people's way that are preparing to practice," Lillard said. "A lot of my time is spent in front of nobody... it's me and the PT in the training room and in the weight room, and then it's me and the player development guys on the court going through workouts."

Despite missing the entire season, Lillard delivered one of its more memorable moments during All-Star weekend in February, winning the NBA's Three-Point Contest for the third time in his career, tying Larry Bird and Craig Hodges for the most titles in the event's history and becoming the first player ever to win the contest while missing his entire team's season. Lillard defeated Phoenix's Devin Booker and Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel in the final round, closing with 29 points after knocking down seven of his final 10 attempts. Following the win, Lillard offered a measured reflection on what the moment represented given his circumstances. "I wouldn't say I'm representing the Achilles nation or nothing like that," Lillard said. "I do think I represent strength. We are athletes so when we go through injury people act like it's the end of the world because people are used to us being like lifted up and everything being about us but people go through way worse. For me it was more about representing strength. I didn't choose to be weak about it."

As the Blazers advanced to the play-in tournament and eventually a first-round playoff matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, speculation grew over whether Lillard might make a surprise postseason appearance. Then-Blazers coach Tiago Splitter addressed the chatter directly following a practice in April. "He's working out," Splitter said. "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." Asked specifically whether Lillard could return for the Spurs series, Splitter said, "Probably not." A source told The Oregonian's Bill Oram that the organization had not entirely closed the door on a surprise appearance had Portland's playoff run extended further, though ultimately Lillard did not appear in any games during the 2025-26 season.

Speaking with The Athletic's Jason Quick earlier in the year, Lillard offered a characteristically confident, if cryptic, update on where his recovery stood, while brushing aside comparisons to Boston's Jayson Tatum, who tore his own Achilles just 13 days after Lillard and returned to action for the Celtics during the same season. "I can do a lot, that's where I'll put it," Lillard said. "I'm running my own race. If I were 23, 24, 25, I probably would be more competitive about who is doing what, but I know where I am physically. I can feel it. I'm on the court every day, and to me, it's not about what Jayson Tatum is doing." Lillard has stressed that his focus is entering the 2026 offseason with a complete training block. "After the season, I'm going into a full summer to get ready for next season, and I want to make sure that I'm 1,000 percent and that I can play every year for the rest of my career as the best version of myself," he said.

Portland's own offseason has continued to take shape around Lillard's expected return. The Blazers finished the 2025-26 regular season at 42 wins, making the playoffs for the first time since 2021 before falling to the Spurs, and have since made significant roster moves, including acquiring guard Ja Morant in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies and re-signing forward Robert Williams III to a new four-year, $44 million contract. Lillard is expected to enter next season alongside a more diversified offensive core that includes All-Star forward Deni Avdija, guard Shaedon Sharpe and now Morant, potentially reducing the offensive burden Lillard carried during his prime years in Portland.

Medical experts and analysts covering the recovery note that outcomes following Achilles tears at Lillard's age remain highly variable. Some players, including Kevin Durant following his 2019 Achilles rupture, have gone on to make multiple All-Star appearances after returning, while others, including Kobe Bryant and Klay Thompson, never fully regained their pre-injury explosiveness. Blazers commentators have generally tempered expectations for a full return to Lillard's peak form while expressing optimism that a version capable of playing 65 to 70 games at a high level would represent a significant success for the organization.

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 as close to full strength as possible.