Doc Rivers reveals Damian Lillard’s brave response to season-ending injury

The Milwaukee Bucks were hit with a major injury blow early in their Game 4 loss to the Indiana Pacers last weekend. Damian Lillard, the 10-time NBA All-Star, took a tumble in the first quarter and was forced to exit the game.

Soon after, Lillard was confirmed to have suffered a left Achilles tendon tear and he has been ruled out of the remainder of the season. The 34-year-old guard was clearly in pain when he left the court on Sunday and the severity of his injury sparked concern about his future in the game.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday ahead of Game 5, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers revealed that Lillard wasn’t ready to call it a day just yet.

“He said two things, which I love,” Rivers said. “The first one, he just said ‘I can’t believe I’m here.’ Then the second one is ‘I’m not going out this way.’ I can guarantee you he won’t, and that’s what I meant about his resolve.”

“It’s amazing,” Rivers added. “He’s already talking about his return and being better and being ready. We had a long talk about that today as well.”

This is not the first injury concern to hit Lillard in recent months. Earlier this month he came back from a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf, managing to return to the court within a matter of weeks.

Although he won’t be around for the remainder of this year’s playoffs, there is no reason to think that Lillard won’t continue to be a centerpiece for the Bucks going forward. Across the entire NBA this season Lillard ranks tenth for both scoring (24.9) and assists (7.1).

The Bucks will hope to continue their playoff run in his absence but fans will be frustrated to have suffered a serious postseason injury for a fourth consecutive season.

In 2022 a knee injury forced Khris Middleton to miss the entire seven-game Eastern Conference loss to the Boston Celtics. In both 2023 and 2024 injuries to Giannis Antetokounmpo meant that the superstar missed substantial parts of the postseason schedule.

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