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Bucks’ Doc Rivers shares disheartening Damian Lillard injury message

Originally posted on NBA on ClutchPoints
By Jedd Pagaduan | Last updated Apr 28, 2025 2:30 AM ET

Damian Lillard made a miraculous recovery from a deep vein thrombosis just in time to make his return for the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers. This was a major cause for celebration, as this is the sort of injury that cut the career of Hall of Fame inductee Chris Bosh. However, in Game 4, another tragedy beset Lillard, as he sustained a non-contact leg injury that experts fear is a torn Achilles tendon.

In the aftermath of Lillard’s serious-looking injury that had the Bucks helping him off the court, Milwaukee suffered a 129-103 loss in Game 4 against the Pacers. Their season is now hanging in the balance, and with Lillard now presumably out not just for the rest of the series, but perhaps for the rest of the 2025-26 season as well, the Bucks are in dire straits.

Head coach Doc Rivers gave Lillard his flowers for all the efforts he made to come back for his team even though now, he’s in danger of never returning to superstar form again.

“Just to be honest, it’s not very promising,” Rivers said in his postgame presser, via ESPN. “I knew it right away, yeah. I felt bad for him. The guy tried to come back for his team and I just felt bad for him.”

“It’s not very promising. … I feel bad for him. The guy tried to come back for his team.”

Doc Rivers with the latest on Damian Lillard. pic.twitter.com/rmv3jd4BQ3

— ESPN (@espn) April 28, 2025

It was evident that Lillard was not yet close to being at his best. In three playoff games this year, he averaged seven points on 22.2 percent shooting from the field. Suffice to say, that is not the level everyone is expecting out of the Bucks star.

Be that as it may, his presence on the court was already helpful enough as it is, allowing the Bucks to rally in Game 3. But now, Lillard is going to be facing plenty of injury uncertainty, and so will the Bucks, who are staring at a first-round exit for the third consecutive year.

Prayers up to Damian Lillard and the Bucks

Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) defends against Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) © Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Small guards are typically the ones who fall prey to Father Time the quickest. But at 35 years old, Damian Lillard still had plenty of gas left in the tank, as evidenced by his production before being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis. However, the precedent for small guards sustaining a torn Achilles tendon isn’t too promising for Lillard.

Chauncey Billups is a notable old point guard who was never the same after an Achilles tear. The hope is that the wonders of modern medicine will help the Bucks star avoid the same fate.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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