Damian Lillard Expresses Confidence in Blazers’ Roster and His Role Ahead

Nov 3, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) watches teammates warm up before a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

It hasn't been an easy season for the Portland Trail Blazers, whose coach was placed on leave after being charged in an FBI-led gambling probe. Injuries have piled up and two of the Trail Blazers' recent losses have come from being on the receiving end of devastating buzzer beaters.

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All-Star point guard Damian Lillard — who is out for the entirety of the 2025-26 season with a torn Achilles — has been a vocal leader in the locker room.

“I told these dudes: this is the time when you find your true identity,” Lillard told Jason Quick of The Athletic. “It’s not when you win a couple games and everything feels good. It’s in the moments when it would be easy to walk away — like now, we have some injuries, a rough patch, a tough schedule — but this is the time when you make a decision to march forward and up.”

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Lillard, who is under contract through the 2026-27 season, reunited with the team that drafted him in 2012 after the Milwaukee Bucks waived him after two seasons.

Damian Lillard says the Blazers’ current roster is the one he’s been waiting for, and he promises to deliver moments even better than those from his prime years 👀

“I still think I have better moments ahead. Everything is happening in a weird way. What are the chances that I… pic.twitter.com/tC3o0unMuE

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 21, 2025

For Lillard, Portland was the perfect landing spot. The young core group of players has shown promise, and Lillard has been using this year to build his relationships with the team off the court before he's able to return to the game.

“Everything is happening in a weird way,” Lillard said. “What are the chances that I tear my Achilles and I get waived with two years left … and the first team I think of — and the first team that contacted me — is the Blazers? And me being back here … you know, I had to go away for this team to be assembled. And now it’s a team that I would have wanted to play on for years. So now I have a year to connect with this team while building my body up to get ready to go."

'This Is Not Breaking Me'

For now, Lillard is committed to serving as a mentor for the Trail Blazers, through the win streaks and the piled up losses. A veteran of 13 years, the nine-time All-Star is emphasizing communication and unity in a locker room full of potential.

“Hey, we might lose five more games, but what matters is not what we say to the media,” Lillard said, in reaction to the club's five-game losing streak at the time. “it’s how we walk into the locker room and talk to each other, or whether we get to practice and it’s quiet and nobody says anything … like, you gotta have that feeling of ‘Man, this sucks.’ But you have to have the actions of ‘this is not breaking me.’"

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