Damian Lillard Gives Estimated Timeline For NBA Return

Damian Lillard’s return to the court will be one of the anticipated events in Portland Trail Blazers’ basketball history. But being realistic and cautious with the tail end of his career, the 35-year-old point guard has revealed an estimated timeline for his much-awaited return.

Appearing on a stream with iShowSpeed, the former Milwaukee Bucks star shared how he envisions his comeback. This is how the conversation went:

Speed: How much time do you spend working out in a week? 

Lillard: S***, right now, that’s all I’m doing. I got rehab for my Achilles. I’ve been waiting to get shots up. 

Speed: When do you come back? 

Lillard: Sh*t, probably the start of next season. That, Achilles, you can’t f*** around with that. I just got to get all the way right.

The renowned Twitch streamer was in full agreement with the nine-time All-Star athlete. Lillard has made it clear that he won’t play this season despite signing a three-year, $42 million deal with the Trail Blazers.

Speed later also asked about his running routine, and Lillard revealed that he can’t go running yet; he’s only running on the assisted treadmill since he’s only four months away from his injury.

It looks like it’ll be a long while before Trail Blazers fans get to see one of their franchise’s biggest superstars back in action. The 35-year-old point guard is focused on completely healing before coming back, since the last time he came back, he found himself injured within a few weeks.

In March 2025, Lillard was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his right calf. After being out of action for three weeks. But when he came back, during a playoff game against the Indiana Pacers, Lillard suffered a non-contact injury in his left calf.

This time, he’d torn up his Achilles. The Bucks waived him after his surgery, and subsequently, he signed with his former team.

Speed said that he’s been following Lillard since he was a kid, revealing his age to the NBA superstar. That was somewhat of an eye-opener for Lillard as well, because he realised Speed was in kindergarten when the buzzer-beating maestro was drafted into the league.

Damian Lillard Makes First Public Appearance After Signing With Trail Blazers

Trail Blazers fans were elated to see Lillard make his first public appearance as the team organized a welcome-back fan event for the superstar. The 35-year-old point guard was traded away from the franchise after 11 seasons with them.

Fans had been waiting for this moment for a long time, since the team has been struggling, and his return brings hope to them. This sentiment was on full display as reportedly thousands of fans of the Trail Blazers showed up to welcome him back at Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland.

His fans were seen wearing his iconic number zero jersey and sharing how much confidence they have in the future of this team, now that he’s back. By the time Lillard comes back, hopefully, the Trail Blazers' front office will build a solid championship-contending roster so they’re ready for his return.