Damian Lillard diagnosed with torn left Achilles tendon, will miss rest of playoffs
Damian Lillard #0 of the Milwaukee Bucks is helped off the court after an apparent injury . (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard has been diagnosed with a torn left Achilles tendon.
An MRI on Monday revealed the severity.
The Milwaukee Bucks officially confirmed the injury on Monday, and also confirmed that Lillard will miss the remainder of the 2025 playoffs and undergo surgery to repair the injury.
Lillard left Game 4
The backstory:
Lillard has left Game 4 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers after hurting his lower left leg the first quarter.
Lillard was helped off the floor and into the locker room after suffering the non-contact injury. The Bucks announced he won't return to the game.
The seven-time all-NBA player was behind the 3-point line when the ball bounced toward him. Lillard used his left hand to tip the ball toward teammate Gary Trent Jr., then went down and grabbed the lower part of his left leg, around his ankle. He continued to sit on the floor as play resumed on the other end of the court.
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After a foul stopped play, Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma helped Lillard up. Lillard then started limping and had to be helped off the court and into the locker room.
Lillard had missed the Bucks’ last 14 regular-season games and the first game of this series while dealing with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. Lillard was taken off blood-thinning medication and cleared to resume full basketball activities at the end of the regular season, and he returned to action for Game 2 of this series on Tuesday.
The Source: The information in this post was provided by Shams Charania with ESPN and the Associated Press. The Milwaukee Bucks later provided the official information.