Blazers Insider Has Harsh Reality Check for Damian Lillard's Post-Achilles Injury Upside

May 30, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NBA player Damian Lillard sits courtside during the Las Vegas Aces and Los Angeles Sparks game at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images | Candice Ward-Imagn Images

A Portland Trail Blazers insider has shed a light on how nine-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard could look when he returns from his Achilles tendon tear.

Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report cautions that there's a good chance the 6-foot-2 Weber State product, 35, will never be the same caliber of player whenever he does return. Given the extent of the injury and Lillard's size and advanced age, odds are good Lillard won't be back until the 2026-27 season.

"As great of a story as it would be if Lillard came back from the Achilles injury as something close to what he was before it, I don't see how you look at the track record and come to any conclusion other than the one you did," Highkin writes.

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Lillard also just isn't the level of player he had been during his first stint in Portland. He was a far less impactful contributor to the Milwaukee Bucks from 2023-25, pre-injury, than he had been during his Portland prime.

Even as a supplemental star next to nine-time All-NBA Milwaukee power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lillard was exposed as a defender and his offense was somewhat stunted.

Lillard Faces Some Shaky History Among All-Star Achilles Recoveries

"Lillard is 35, the same age Kobe Bryant was when he tore his Achilles in 2013. Bryant was never close to the same player after he came back. There are two big differences between his situation and Lillard's, though," Highkin notes. "One is obviously that medical science and recovery methods have advanced in the last 12 years, and the other is that Bryant tried to come back in eight months while Lillard will likely go 18 months between the injury and the next time he plays in a game."

Highkin cautions that Bryant is hardly the exception that proves the rule when it comes to Achilles tear recovery trajectories. In fact, in terms of recent examples, only Kevin Durant — probably one of the greatest 20 players of all time and an absolute basketball superfreak — recaptured his All-NBA form.

"Still, there are far more examples of players that come back from a torn Achilles and aren't the same than there are players who are. Kevin Durant is an outlier in that regard, and he suffered his injury when he was five years younger than Lillard is now," Highkin adds. "There are way more players, even great ones like John Wall, Klay Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins, who were pretty much finished as All-Star-level players after tearing their Achilles. Even looking at the other two superstars who will likely miss the entire upcoming season with Achilles injuries, Jayson Tatum is 27 and Tyrese Haliburton is 25. That's a long way off from Lillard's age."

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Tatum and Haliburton both ruptured their own Achilles tendons during the playoffs after Lillard did.

"That's not to say Lillard couldn't come back strong. He clearly believes he will, and anyone who knows anything about him knows he's going to attack his rehab as hard as anybody ever has," Highkin notes. "I'm not going to be the one to completely write it off. But I also don't think it's wise on the part of fans or people in the organization to view his return to the court in a year as a sure thing that's going to be the missing piece for this team contending. There's just too much that's unknown."

For more news and notes on the Portland Trail Blazers, visit Portland Trail Blazers on SI.