Damian Lillard’s Deep Vein Thrombosis Could Be ‘Trauma Induced’, 3 Months Recovery Period Says Medical Expert

Damian Lillard has a blood clot in his right calf. It’s a devastating injury for the 34 year old and the Milwaukee Bucks who had hoped that the pairing of Lillard and superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo could lead to another title after their win in 2021.

Lillard was initially acquired from the Portland Trailblazers in October of 2023. While the trade has won the Bucks an In Season Tournament title, it has failed to produce any meaningful playoff moments or victories. Now, with Lillard’s deep vein thrombosis, he will likely miss around three months, which would mean his season is over.

Lillard joins Brandon Ingram, Ausar Thompson, and Victor Wembenyama as recent star players to deal with a blood clot. According to experts, deep vein thrombosis and the clots it causes are usually brought on through physical trauma or immobilization, typically in travel.

As such, these players who are regularly on flights are at a higher risk for these medical emergencies. As said by Dr. Nirav Pandya, the main treatment plan is anti-coagulates, or blood thinners.

Tough news for Damian Lillard. In athletes, lower extremity blood clots can be caused by a variety of factors including trauma, prolonged immobilization (i.e. travel), post-surgery, and/or due to hereditary disorders. Treatment centers around placing the patient on… https://t.co/gpoEFVJNaW

— Dr. Nirav Pandya, M.D. (@DrNiravPandya) March 26, 2025

The name that comes to mind when discussing blood clots in the NBA is Chris Bosh, who unfortunately was forced to retire in 2016. While clots are still a severe and extremely scary situation, medical advancements of the past ten years have allowed the aforementioned players to return to play safely and healthily.

Though Dame’s future as a person is likely being protected by the choice to have him out indefinitely, the Bucks season and this era of Milwaukee basketball will likely be over. It will end with far less success to show for it than anyone would’ve expected.

Wishes of Good Health from Gilbert Arenas and Nick Young

While on a stream of the Warriors – Heat game for Playback.tv, the news of Dame’s clot was broken to Gilbert Arenas and Nick “Swaggy P” Young. Although neither player ever played with Lillard, both sent their best wishes for a quick recovery to the star point guard.

Between a quick conversation of the dangers of a clot, they focused shortly on how this likely ends Milwaukee’s season. Arenas, specifically, said “Damn… That boy gotta get healthy.”

Lillard has been a fairly robust NBA players despite his stature and the fact that shorter point guards who rely on a quick burst age worse than most other player archetypes. This is perhaps his most serious injury since he broke his foot at Weber State. It will be interesting to see how Dame at age 34 bounces back from a setback like this that unfortunately, is in the lower extremities of his body.