Former Trail Blazers Guard Rejects Notion That He's 'Breaking Down'

The Portland alum seems to have shown some signs of age-related decline of late.

Nov 10, 2021; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) in the huddle with guard CJ McCollum (3) forward Nassir Little (9) guard Anfernee Simons (1) and center Jusuf Nurkic (27) against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Former Portland Trail Blazers All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard has pushed back against the notion that he is somehow past his prime at the age of 34.

The 6-foot-2 point guard demanded a trade to a contending squad in the summer of 2023, and was ultimately flipped to the Milwaukee Bucks, to pair up with perennial MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo. Lillard wasn't quite able to replicate his Portland-era heroics, and starting small forward Khris Middleton missed much of the season with injuries. Although the Bucks earned a 49-33 record and the East's No. 3 seed, injuries to Antetokounmpo and Lillard helped doom the team to a first round upset against the sixth-seeded Indiana Pacers.

Lillard recently told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, however, that he has plenty left to give in the years ahead. Milwaukee better hope so. The Weber state product is under contract with the Bucks through the 2026-27 season, when the point guard has a $58.4 million player option at age 36.

“I’m not a player that’s breaking down,” Lillard said. “I live a clean, good, healthy life, so I can do it. I can do the same (expletive) I did two, three years ago. I can do it right now.”

During his swan song run with the Blazers in 2022-23, Lillard posted a personal best in career scoring, averaging 32.2 points on .463/.371/.914 shooting splits. His numbers took a significant dip as Antetokounmpo's second fiddle in 2023-24, but more concerningly, his shooting efficiency decline. His field goal shooting declined from 46.3 percent to 42.4 percent, while his 3-point shooting dropped from 37.1 percent to 35.4 percent.

“I think when the trade happened everybody was like, well, Milwaukee’s gonna win it, and I think when it didn’t always look the way they wanted it to look or thought it was gonna look, and I wasn’t looking how I looked in Portland, it was like, oh, what’s going on with Dame? Why is Dame not doing this?” he said. “But when for a greater part of the season I was still averaging about 26 points. Like, if you really think about that – what standard do y’all hold me to if I’m scoring 26 points and averaging seven assists and I’m not feeling great? I’m going through a lot of stuff. That’s just the truth.”

Owczarski notes that Lillard struggled through injuries to his ankle, groin, adductor, Achilles and calf throughout the season.

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