Damian Lillard Thrilled ‘To Be Back Home’ After Sealing Portland Trail Blazers Return

Damian Lillard is thrilled to be "back home" after making his return to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Lillard has reportedly agreed to a three-year contract that will carry a player option in 2027-28 and a no-trade clause.

He played the first 11 seasons of his career in Portland before joining the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023, though he struggled with injuries during his two years there.

"Just knowing that I'm going to be back home for all parts of my life, with my kids, playing for the Trail Blazers, driving on the same streets that I've driven on pretty much my entire adulthood, my whole family being here, my mom, my brother, my sisters, all my friends around the city of Portland," he said in his first interview since returning to the Trail Blazers.

"All of those things count. I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon."

The 35-year-old will not be on the court any time soon, though, after he ruptured his left Achilles tendon during the Bucks' first-round play-off loss to the Indiana Pacers.

As such, he is not expected to be on the court in the upcoming season, though Lillard has not ruled out that possibility just yet.

Though this type of injury has sometimes changed players' careers for the worse, Lillard is confident he can bounce back, noting he has been prepared for the fight since he first suffered the injury.

"After I tore my Achilles, and I felt it, and I was sitting on the floor," he said. "I grabbed it and I rolled over and sat up.

"And the first thought that I had to myself was, 'I'm about to come back from an Achilles'. That was literally my first thought, [I swear] on my kids.

"Everybody else had more pity for me than I did. I had the PTs about to cry and all that stuff. I didn't cry.

"Even when I got by myself, I didn't cry. And it wasn't a [pride] thing; my mind just automatically went to 'I gotta fight for something'.

"I never had that moment of pity or any of those things. With none of my injuries, honestly. But this one I know is probably the biggest one of my career, and, like you said, it's a mental battle. But I don't lose those."