Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard has been diagnosed with a torn left Achilles tendon, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Monday.
An MRI earlier in the day revealed the severity of the injury, which will end Lillard’s season and also puts his 2025-26 season in jeopardy because of the extended recovery timeline of the injury.
Lillard suffered the injury during Sunday night’s 129-103 Game 4 loss to the Indiana Pacers when he tried to keep an offensive rebound alive and went to knock the ball away from a Pacers player before crumbling to the court without contact.
He remained on the ground as the defensive possession occurred on the other end of the floor, grabbing his left foot and then sitting with his elbows on his knees waiting for a stoppage in play.
Lillard had to be helped off the floor and into the locker room without putting any weight on his left leg. He exited the arena Sunday night in a walking boot and on crutches and Bucks coach Doc Rivers acknowledged after the game his status was “not promising.”
Lillard had worked his way back to the court about one month after he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right leg. He missed the team’s final 14 regular-season games and Game 1 of the playoffs before returning to play the past two games, though he was not able to match his usual production — averaging 7.0 points and 4.7 assists in three games on 6-of-27 shooting (3-for-16 from 3).