Damian Lillard is now back with the Portland Trail Blazers, but fans won’t see him play in 2025-26.
At the team’s media day, Lillard made it official: he is sitting on the sidelines for all of next season.
He confirmed that he won’t be playing because of his Achilles injury, but he will be back and has full faith in his team until then.
“I don’t plan on it. I feel like if this team is a 1 seed [without me], they probably got it. I’m trying to be as healthy as possible,” Lillard said.
Damian Lillard doesn’t plan on playing this season
"I don't plan on it. I feel like if this team is a 1 seed [without me], they probably got it. I'm trying to be as healthy as possible."
(Via @highkin ) pic.twitter.com/lXSf3jgcyI
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 29, 2025
The Blazers are still elated to see Lillard back, but they are surely disappointed that he won’t be playing in the new season.
This isn’t that surprising, because it was clear that Lillard suffered an Achilles tear last season when he went down while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks.
That marked the last time he’d play for Milwaukee, the team that traded for him just a few seasons ago.
When he left Portland, there were a lot of negative feelings about his departure.
But even though he was gone, fans of the Blazers still loved Lillard, and he held a special place in the team’s history.
When things didn’t pan out with the Bucks and he was waived, there was a ton of speculation about where he would land, especially because he had just suffered his injury.
In the end, Portland was glad to welcome him back, even though they knew his future was uncertain as he healed.
Now he is confirming that he won’t be playing in 2025-26, but he has every desire to be back as soon as possible.
NEXT: Trail Blazers Get Concerning Injury Update On Scoot Henderson
