Nine-time All-Star Damian Lillard is back home and feeling better than ever.
In an emotional press conference on July 21, Lillard explained why he chose to return to the Portland Trail Blazers over picking a championship contender such as the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers or Golden State Warriors, all of whom made an aggressive push to land him as a free agent.
“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, via ESPN.
“All of those things count. I wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon.”
Courted By a Dozen Teams
According to multiple insiders, at least a dozen NBA teams have contacted Lillard’s representation to sign him to a multi-year deal. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Celtics and Timberwolves were among the final shortlist of teams he seriously considered joining, alongside the Trail Blazers.
“Over a dozen teams made minimum and mid-level exception offers to Damian Lillard. Two teams in particular, I’m told, that Damian Lillard really considered, and that’s the Boston Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves,” Charania said on “NBA Today” on July 18. “He held calls with both teams at different points.”
Lillard was reportedly recruited by his close friend and Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum, who will also be sidelined during the 2025-26 season with an Achilles tear. According to Celtics beat writers, Tatum was confident that he and Lillard could bring the franchise back to prominence in the 2026-27 season, when both would be back on the court.
Charnia noted that Lillard ultimately chose family over chasing an elusive NBA title.
“But to be in Portland back home with his three young kids, that was by far the most important factor I was told in his return to the Trailblazers,” Charania said.
“And he was going to spend the year rehabbing in Portland anyway from that Achilles tear. But to return to Portland, the franchise that he, obviously, is an icon in, that meant a lot to him.”
Damian Lillard Won’t Play 2025-26 Season
Lillard confirmed during his presser that he will miss the entirety of the 2025-26 season due to an Achilles injury. The legendary guard confirmed that the Trail Blazers front office’s decision to allow him a gap year factored into his decision to return.
“My prideful self would be thinking differently, but I think with age, you get wiser,” Lillard said of sitting out next season. “Like Joe [Cronin] said, it’s going to be ultimately what’s best, I think, to take as much time as possible to make sure that I’m right, that’s what I’ll do.”
Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups expects Lillard to be on the bench with him in 2025-26, serving as a de facto assistant coach while he recovers from his injury.
“I told him that this year he’s going to be the highest-paid assistant coach in league history because I’ll be putting him to work every day,” Billups said of Lillard.
Chauncey Billups on Damian Lillard
(via @trailblazers)
In 11 seasons with the Trail Blazers, Lillard averaged 25.1 points, 6.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds, becoming the all-time franchise leader with 19,376 points. Starting in the 2026-27 season, he will get a chance to pile onto his franchise records.
Damian Lillard Breaks his Silence on Returning to Portland