Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard has been diagnosed with a torn Achilles tendon and is expected to undergo surgery.
Bucks face elimination after Sunday night’s loss
ESPN reported that Lillard’s MRI report revealed how serious his injury is, which already ruled him out for the rest of the postseason. His offseason recovery timeline remains uncertain, raising concerns about his status for the 2025-2026 NBA season.
Milwaukee lost 129–103 in Game 4 to the Indiana Pacers and is down 3-1 against the Indiana Pacers in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
How did Damian Lillard get injured?
Lillard, 34, went down midway through the first quarter while trying to keep an offensive rebound alive near the three-point line. As the ball tipped toward him, he attempted to pass it to teammate Gary Trent Jr. before collapsing and grabbing the lower part of his left leg.
He remained down as the game resumed at the opposite end of the court. He sat briefly before his teammate Kyle Kuzma came over to help him. Lillard could not put pressure on his left leg and had several team personnel help him off the court and into the locker room.
NBC News reported that Lillard’s Achilles injury occurred just three games after he returned from a 14-game absence due to a deep vein thrombosis diagnosis. Bucks head coach Doc Rivers addressed Lillard’s recent string of injuries while also praising his resilience and leadership.
“This is a tough one, honestly,” Rivers said after Sunday’s game, according to the outlet. “Blood clot, followed by this. It’s just tough. That’s why you have teammates and family around him. He’s just such a great freaking dude, on a basketball level, but more importantly as a teammate and a father and all that stuff.”
Teammate and 8-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo shared similar sentiments and spoke on Lillard’s toughness as a person and player.
“I have so much respect for him,” Antetokounmpo said, per NBC News. “A lot of people don’t see what Dame had to deal with, but we’re around him every single day, and it’s hard. It’s hard being in his position. He’s one of the toughest, mentally toughest guys I’ve ever been around. That’s why he is who he is.”
In a post-game press conference, Lillard told reporters what the doctors had to say about his injury.
“They were just like, ‘We don’t see this,’” Lillard said Sunday night, per NBC News. “For me, I was just like, it was a different experience for me because I went in there a bunch of times and it was the same size. So I’m like, it didn’t seem that special, and then it just reached a point where it just got a lot smaller out of nowhere.”
While his recovery timeline remains uncertain, Lillard posted a message on Instagram Monday thanking everyone who reached out with well wishes.
Appreciate all the prayers and well wishes. This one really hurt… HIS way not MY way. To Be Continued… 🙏🏽💪🏾,” he wrote in the post’s caption.
View this post on Instagram
