Damian Lillard injury update: NBA insider reveals when Milwaukee Bucks star expected to return

Damian Lillard could return by Game 2 or 3 of the Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round series against the Indiana Pacers. Lillard was originally ruled out indefinitely back in March with blood clots.

As ESPN’s Shams Charania put it, this is an unprecedented recovery for Lillard. The Bucks could get a massive boost with him back in the lineup.

Milwaukee begins its series at Indiana in Game 1 Saturday at 1:00 p.m. ET. Lillard won’t play in the opener, but could return shortly.

“Damian Lillard is expected to make his return in Game 2 in Indianapolis on Tuesday, or Game 3 against the Indiana Pacers at home in Milwaukee on Friday,” Charania said on NBA Countdown. “He’s been doing full contact workouts since Thursday, when he was cleared from that blood clot. Now it’s just about ramping up conditioning, gaining basketball stamina. He’s been out for over a month since he was diagnosed, and doctors really told the Bucks this recovery was unprecedented.

“This had never been seen before. In just over three and a half weeks to return from a blood clot, get off blood thinners and there were two reasons why. One was the fact that they detected it early and started medication (with) those blood thinners and then the second part is the clot side. They were able to treat it, get it, and now reduce it to where it’s shrunk completely. He’s made an unprecedented return and now he’s on the cusp of making his comeback.”

Lillard is in his 13th NBA season overall and his second with the Bucks. He has averaged 24.9 points and 7.1 assists per game in 58 appearances so far this season. He earned the ninth All-Star appearance of his career in February.

The Bucks grabbed the No. 5 seed in the playoffs and take on No. 4 Indiana. The winner will advance and play No. 1 Cleveland or No. 8 Miami in the second round.

Lillard searches for his first NBA title and the Bucks look to make their return to the Finals. They last won the title in 2021 but haven’t advanced past the Eastern Conference semifinals since.

That includes two first-round series losses in the last two seasons. The Bucks lost in five games to the Heat in 2023 and in six games to the Pacers just last season.