Damian Lillard’s return to the Portland Trail Blazers is the feel-good story the NBA needed.
Late last month, the 35-year-old point guard officially signed a three-year, $42 million deal to return to the franchise where he spent the first 11 years of his professional career. It’s the city where his three children — all under the age of 10 — were born, and the place his family remained when the then seven-time All-Star was abruptly traded to the Milwaukee Bucks before the 2023-24 season.
In a world where superstar athletes seemingly chase championships by joining stacked rosters with little regard to brand and fan loyalty, Lillard chose a different path. He prioritized family and returned home with little concern for the competitive prospects of his employer.
“Just knowing that I’m going to be back home for all parts of my life, with my kids, playing for the Trail Blazers, driving on the same streets that I’ve driven on pretty much my entire adulthood, my whole family being here, my mom, my brother, my sisters, all my friends around the city of Portland,” Lillard told reporters upon his return to the team that drafted him in 2012. “All of those things count. I wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon.”
To that point, Lillard also wasn’t necessarily expecting to leave Portland so soon. Reports at the time suggested that he was taken off guard by the three-team trade that sent him to the Bucks, though he went on to post on his verified Twitter account that he was “excited” for the opportunity. Whatever truly transpired is now irrelevant, however, as his contract this time around includes a no-trade clause that will prevent future surprise transactions.
On the court, Milwaukee never felt like home to Lillard, and the experiment of teaming the sharpshooter alongside two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo never equated to the type of success the Bucks’ front office hoped it would. Namely, they failed to secure a second championship since 2021.
That’s not to say Lillard didn’t give it his all. The Oakland, California, native tore his Achilles tendon while attempting to lead the Bucks past the eventual Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers during Game 4 of their opening-round playoff series earlier this summer. Milwaukee lost the series, 4-1.
Lillard was named an All-Star in each of his two seasons in Milwaukee and was a finalist for the league’s Clutch Player of the Year award in 2023. The perceived Big Three of Lillard, Antetokounmpo, and Khris Middleton, though, played in just 42 of a possible 96 games together, and their team never advanced past the opening round of the playoffs in their time together.
Milwaukee waived Lillard just weeks after he suffered his torn Achilles, opting to pay out the remainder of his $113 million contract over the next five seasons. Even though he stands to miss the entirety of the 2025-26 season while he recovers from the injury, championship contenders throughout the league — including the likes of Golden State, Boston, and New York — reportedly inquired about his services.
Still, with no championships under his belt and Father Time knocking on the door of Dame Time, Lillard chose to prioritize family and sign with a team that finished 12th in the Western Conference the previous year. It’s tough to picture Kevin Durant or Lebron James doing something like that (James was the missing piece to a championship puzzle when he returned to Cleveland in 2016, so let’s not pretend that decision was based on mental health).
If nothing else, the Trail Blazers just became a lot more fun to watch, and the ever-competitive Western Conference has yet another team to keep an eye on. In this case, what was good for Lillard is good for the league, and vice versa.
Welcome home, Lillard. Other superstars across the league should take notice.
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