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Milwaukee Bucks all-star point guard Damian Lillard suffered a tear in his left Achilles tendon in the first quarter of the Game 4 loss to the Indiana Pacers on April 27, the Journal Sentinel has confirmed on April 28.
Lillard underwent imaging on his lower left leg to confirm the severity of the injury, but Lillard and the Bucks were prepared for the news.
“It’s not very promising,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said after Game 4. “I knew it right away. Yeah. I feel bad for him. The guy tried to come back for his team and you know, I just felt bad for him.”
The Indianapolis Star noted Lillard was seen leaving Fiserv Forum on crutches and in a walking boot.
Lillard was injured in the first quarter of the game when he pushed off his left leg to collect an offensive rebound. His leg immediately buckled and he fell to the floor and reached for his lower leg. He sat until play was stopped by a foul, and Lillard needed assistance from Milwaukee coaches and players to exit the court.
Once in the tunnel that led to the Bucks locker room, the television broadcast showed Lillard once again grabbing at the back of his lower calf.
Lillard, who will turn 35 years old on July 15, was playing in his third game since being cleared of a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. Diagnosed with the blood clot in late March, he made a remarkable comeback in just weeks when the clot was resolved and he was taken off blood thinning medication.
“I have so much respect for him,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said of his teammate after Game 4. “So much respect for him, dealing with what he was dealing with the whole year, then finding out eight, 10 games about his calf, then staying in shape, fighting through, spending extra hours working on his body, working on his game, being able to come back Game 2, Game 3 help us win the game. But not just that he’s been so much vocal, watch film, he’s pulling everybody together. I always had respect for Dame before we became teammates, but now my respect level is much higher. I respect him, man. I respect him a lot.”
Now, Lillard will begin what typically is a nine- to 12-month recovery process.
“Prayers up for Dame,” Bobby Portis Jr. said after Game 4. “I hope everything gets right. Hope it’s another; hope they come up with a blessing that is nothing crazy. I know he’ll be OK. He’s a hard worker. It’s just tough for us, man. It’s like my brother, for real. I don’t like to see my brother’s hurt. Tough, it’s tough.”
More: Go inside the boxing ring with Damian Lillard as he prepares for his second season with the Milwaukee Bucks
The injury is a devastating finish to Lillard’s second season in Milwaukee, a period that has not been easy for him. Shortly after being acquired via a trade with Portland, he went through a divorce and had to learn how to manage being away from his children and family for the first time in his professional career.
Professionally, the Bucks changed coaches halfway through last season, and he’s battled a myriad of injuries from an oblique strain, a strained right Achilles tendon, a concussion and then the deep vein thrombosis.
Through it all, though, he's turned in two all-star seasons, won the 2024 all-star game MVP award and helped the Bucks win the Emirates NBA Cup. He named to the Cup all-tournament team as well.“I’ve seen the last two years of being teammates, things he’s been through on the court and off the court,” Antetokounmpo said. “As I said previously, I have so much respect for him. A lot of people don’t see what Dame had to deal with, but we’re around him every single day and it’s hard. It’s hard being in his position but man, he’s one of the toughest, mentally toughest, guys I’ve ever been around and that’s why he is who he is and he’s going to overcome every obstacle that’s going to be in front of him.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Damian Lillard injury update: Bucks star suffers torn Achilles
Continue reading...
Lillard underwent imaging on his lower left leg to confirm the severity of the injury, but Lillard and the Bucks were prepared for the news.
“It’s not very promising,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said after Game 4. “I knew it right away. Yeah. I feel bad for him. The guy tried to come back for his team and you know, I just felt bad for him.”
The Indianapolis Star noted Lillard was seen leaving Fiserv Forum on crutches and in a walking boot.
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Lillard was injured in the first quarter of the game when he pushed off his left leg to collect an offensive rebound. His leg immediately buckled and he fell to the floor and reached for his lower leg. He sat until play was stopped by a foul, and Lillard needed assistance from Milwaukee coaches and players to exit the court.
Once in the tunnel that led to the Bucks locker room, the television broadcast showed Lillard once again grabbing at the back of his lower calf.
Lillard, who will turn 35 years old on July 15, was playing in his third game since being cleared of a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. Diagnosed with the blood clot in late March, he made a remarkable comeback in just weeks when the clot was resolved and he was taken off blood thinning medication.
“I have so much respect for him,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said of his teammate after Game 4. “So much respect for him, dealing with what he was dealing with the whole year, then finding out eight, 10 games about his calf, then staying in shape, fighting through, spending extra hours working on his body, working on his game, being able to come back Game 2, Game 3 help us win the game. But not just that he’s been so much vocal, watch film, he’s pulling everybody together. I always had respect for Dame before we became teammates, but now my respect level is much higher. I respect him, man. I respect him a lot.”
Now, Lillard will begin what typically is a nine- to 12-month recovery process.
“Prayers up for Dame,” Bobby Portis Jr. said after Game 4. “I hope everything gets right. Hope it’s another; hope they come up with a blessing that is nothing crazy. I know he’ll be OK. He’s a hard worker. It’s just tough for us, man. It’s like my brother, for real. I don’t like to see my brother’s hurt. Tough, it’s tough.”
More: Go inside the boxing ring with Damian Lillard as he prepares for his second season with the Milwaukee Bucks
The injury is a devastating finish to Lillard’s second season in Milwaukee, a period that has not been easy for him. Shortly after being acquired via a trade with Portland, he went through a divorce and had to learn how to manage being away from his children and family for the first time in his professional career.
Professionally, the Bucks changed coaches halfway through last season, and he’s battled a myriad of injuries from an oblique strain, a strained right Achilles tendon, a concussion and then the deep vein thrombosis.
Through it all, though, he's turned in two all-star seasons, won the 2024 all-star game MVP award and helped the Bucks win the Emirates NBA Cup. He named to the Cup all-tournament team as well.“I’ve seen the last two years of being teammates, things he’s been through on the court and off the court,” Antetokounmpo said. “As I said previously, I have so much respect for him. A lot of people don’t see what Dame had to deal with, but we’re around him every single day and it’s hard. It’s hard being in his position but man, he’s one of the toughest, mentally toughest, guys I’ve ever been around and that’s why he is who he is and he’s going to overcome every obstacle that’s going to be in front of him.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Damian Lillard injury update: Bucks star suffers torn Achilles
Continue reading...
