Damian Lillard is scheduled to return to game action on Wednesday when the Portland Trail Blazers face the Phoenix Suns in Portland, ending a long absence that kept him out for the entire 2025-26 season.
The nine-time NBA All-Star had not played since April 27, 2025, when he suffered a torn left Achilles tendon during Game 4 of the Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers. Milwaukee waived him after the injury, and Lillard spent the entire season rehabbing instead of playing.
What Lillard missed
Lillard said one of the hardest parts of the recovery process was being away from the day-to-day demands of NBA life. He said he missed the ups and downs that come with the job — winning, losing, criticism, and the pressure to prepare, perform, and bounce back after a bad night.
He explained that he missed having to deal with all of the layers that make the league so demanding, saying he was used to living with that stress and even thriving under it. During his rehab, though, none of that was part of his routine.
Lillard also said he sat out the entire season because he wanted to “check every box” before returning. He did not want to come back limping or second-guessing what he could handle, and he said he made his health the priority throughout the process.
What Portland expects
Lillard is Portland’s all-time leading scorer, with 19,376 points for the Trail Blazers from 2012-23, and he could reach 20,000 points this season. Wednesday’s game will also mark his first regular-season home game since March 17, 2023, adding another layer to a return that already carries plenty of significance.
Portland’s new head coach, Micah Nori, said Lillard may be used more off the ball than earlier in his career. Nori said there has been no real loss of Lillard’s quickness, noted that the injury was to his lower body rather than his upper body, and added that Lillard can still shoot the ball at a high level.
That makes the adjustment less about changing Lillard’s core strengths and more about fitting them into a new role. For Portland, the return of its longtime star gives the team a proven scorer back on the floor and a chance to see how he fits into the next phase of the roster.
