Welcome back Dame?!
In completely earth-shattering and shocking news, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Milwaukee Bucks All-Star guard Damian Lillard has been fully cleared of his blood clots and is no longer blood thinning medication. While he is out for Game 1 on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers, this potentially clears the way for him to play as early as Game 2.
Breaking: Damian Lillard has been cleared of his deep vein thrombosis and is no longer on blood-thinning medication, sources tell Shams Charania.
Lillard is out for Game 1 Saturday against Indiana and will have a period of time to resume contact workouts and ramp up for return.
In a remarkable turn of events, it took Lillard just three weeks to be fully recovered from the blood clots. Shams goes on to report that this recovery has never been seen before and the only reason it occurred was due to the early treatment, detection, and specialists Lillard had been working with prior to an official diagnosis. Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic confirmed that Lillard played three-on-three basketball yesterday and was then re-tested today. They added that he is officially out for Game 1 and he has no clear status for Game 2 on Tuesday.
FROM SHAMS:
Remarkable and historic development to clear from the blood clot in just over 3 weeks. Doctors have told Bucks officials this recovery has never been seen before – but occurred due to early treatment, detection, and specialists working on Lillard even before formal diagnosis.
— Shams Charania Tweets (& Other NBA News) (@shamsbot.bsky.social) 2025-04-17T17:31:01.363Z
Bucks GM Jon Horst said the following in statement from the team:
“We’re thrilled for Dame. Our priority has always been Dame’s health. We’re grateful to our medical team for diagnosing and treating his DVT at an early stage and for the world renowned hematology specialists at Mayo Clinic. Every step of Dame’s recovery has been at the direction of world class medical professionals and their specific and strict protocols that have allowed for Dame’s safe and healthy return to play.”
The team added that Lillard will continue to increase his on-court basketball activity in preparation for his return to play.
There are two full days between Game 1 and Game 2 and between Game 2 and 3 of this series, potentially clearing the way for Lillard to return midway through the series if he can ramp up his conditioning in time. There is also a two-day break between Game 5 and 6. For potentially the first time in three playoff runs, the Bucks top two stars could be fully healthy for a post season run, with Lillard and Giannis both missing time in last year’s series against the Pacers.
It’s a startling turn of events, with most expecting Dame to miss the Bucks first round series and be ready for a potential matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The great thing about this is outside of getting an All-NBA talent back into the lineup, is that the Bucks’ backup point guards in Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. have played so well, they can ease Dame back into playing shape. They don’t have to force him to play 35–40 minutes in his first game back in action, whenever that is.
We’ll keep you updated as always when Dame is officially back in the lineup at somepoint during this series, from how things are looking. Welcome back, Damian Lillard!