Damian Lillard, it appears, has taken another step forward in his rehabilitation from Achilles surgery.
Actually, it’s a jog forward.
The Portland Trail Blazers’ All-Star point guard has been cleared to jog and take part in light shooting drills, based on a minute-long social media video clip he unveiled Thursday,
In half of the clip, Lillard is seen hoisting an assortment of perimeter jump shots, including multiple three-pointers, during a light individual shooting exercise. In the other half of the clip, Lillard is seen jogging on what appears to be an anti-gravity treadmill.
“I’ve got to get three miles,” a jogging Lillard says to someone outside the frame in the video clip. “Remember I said yesterday, ‘I’m going to do three miles.’”
It’s been roughly four months since Lillard underwent surgery to repair a torn left Achilles tendon, an injury he suffered in April while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Bucks waived Lillard two months after his surgery, opening the door for him to sign a multi-year contract to return to Portland, where he starred for the first 11 seasons of his NBA career after the team drafted him No. 6 overall in 2012.
Lillard is expected to miss the 2025-26 season for rehabilitation, but he is posting occasional updates on his physical progress on twitter and his YouTube channel.
Watch the latest video update below:
—Joe Freeman is a senior writer at The Oregonian/OregonLive covering the Trail Blazers and NBA. Reach him at 503-294-5183,jfreeman@oregonian.com,@BlazerFreeman or@freemanjoe.bsky.social.
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