At his end-of-season exit interview, Damian Lillard said he's already started playing 5-on-5 pickup. Better yet, he's already back dunking one year after suffering that brutal Achilles tear.
Dame is already back dunking and doing windmills. 🤯
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 2, 2026
He ruptured his Achilles exactly one year and 6 days ago… insane. pic.twitter.com/A2oyrrusRJ
Lillard has consistently stated that his return timeline is the start of the 2026-27 season. Still, that didn't stop rumors from swirling regarding a potential postseason return.
Blazers missed Damian Lillard this postseason
A variety of factors went into the talks picking up. Bill Oram of The Oregonian/OregonLive wrote that a Lillard playoff return was "not impossible," adding that it would have to come later in the playoffs or extremely deep into the first round against the San Antonio Spurs.
At the time, extending the Spurs series seemed like a realistic possibility. Portland stole Game 2 in San Antonio while superstar Victor Wembanyama unfortunately suffered a concussion in the process. That opened the door for Portland to go up 3-1 with consecutive home games. They even had a golden opportunity to do so, but couldn't maintain second-half leads as their offense faltered. That quickly shut down the pipe dream.
But was it ever even actually on the table?
At the exit interview, Lillard says he never specifically told anyone he wanted to return in the playoffs, noting they probably assumed it from how his routine was changing. He also added that it wasn't realistic for people to expect him to be a playoff hero.
Perhaps Jayson Tatum's Celtics return even played a role in everyone's increased sense of urgency for a Lillard comeback. However, we just saw Tatum miss a crucial Game 7 after playing way too many minutes in the previous games, so it's probably for the best that a 35-year-old Lillard didn't rush back.
Damian Lillard is about to fix Portland's lackluster offense
The Blazers will be much better equipped for a deep playoff run next season, anyway. They have a young core that has shown gradual improvement each year, resulting in a 42-40 record and their first playoff appearance during the rebuild. Portland should continue to build on that momentum next season, with Lillard's return aligning with internal improvements.
Lillard himself expressed lofty expectations for this team next season.
"Looking at our depth and our versatility and our size, how many different lineups we can play, our experience this year, we beat all the best teams, we got some playoff experience against a 60-win team," he said at the exit interview. "How do we become a high-50s or 60-win team?"
For context, the Spurs were the second seed with 62 wins, while the Nuggets were third with 54. Becoming a top-four seed and securing home-court advantage in the first playoff series is an ambitious goal Portland should shoot for next season. Finishing top six and safely avoiding the Play-In Tournament is likely a more realistic goal, given the strength of the Western Conference. But the Blazers should be significantly better with Lillard's anticipated return.
He's going to immediately boost this offense by addressing key weaknesses in terms of shooting and playmaking. Now, it's a matter of whether he'll fully return to form. But this latest update, along with the fact that he's taking such a patient approach, sitting out the postseason despite everyone's eagerness, should go a long way toward making that a reality.
We've already seen him win yet another 3-Point Contest. Now, after seeing him throw down windmill dunks and hearing he's playing 5-on-5, it's reasonable to expect Lillard to be at least 80-90 percent of the player he once was. Even in that case, Portland is still getting a major star upgrade to boost its chances of a deep playoff run.
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