Is Damian Lillard Playing Tonight Vs Kawhi Leonard and Clippers? 2022 NBA Preseason Availability Update on Blazers star

Will Damian Lillard be playing tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers in the Blazers first 2022 NBA Preseason game? 

Damian Lillard has been with the Portland Trailblazers for 10 seasons and has made the Western Conference Finals once. The Blazers would get swept in that series by the Golden State Warriors. Since then, it hasn’t been a pretty road for them. 

After getting bounced out of the first round in 2020 and 2021, Portland would miss the Playoffs completely in the 2022 NBA season. This was due to the fact that Damian Lillard underwent ab surgery, a surgery he had been putting off for years. 

The Blazers tanked, secured the 13th seed, drafted Shaedon Sharpe, re-tooled around Dame and are now heading into the 2022-23 NBA season with championship aspirations. Their first stop on their journey to the promiseland? Seattle against the Clippers for the 2022 NBA preseason.

Also read: Is Kawhi Leonard Playing Tonight Vs Damian Lillard And Blazers? 2022 Preseason Availability Update On Clippers Star

Is Damian Lillard suiting up for NBA 2022 Preseason action tonight against the Clippers? 

Basketball is returning to Seattle, a city that deserves to have its own team more than several others who currently have one. The Los Angeles Clippers will be taking on the Portland Trailblazers in tonight’s stacked slate of NBA Preseason games. 

One question that Blazers have is whether or not Damian Lillard will be playing tonight. According to Dame himself, he most certainly will be despite stars usually taking these preseason games lightly due to them not counting towards regular season standings. 

“The Sonics haven’t been a team since I’ve been in the NBA So just to go play in Seattle is cool,” said Lillard on suiting up for tonight.

Also read: “Damian Lillard is set to GLIDE past Clyde Drexler for all-time franchise scoring record”: Twitter Reacts to Blazer Superstar’s Candid Interview

Is Damian Lillard healthy enough to play tonight? 

In short, yes, yes he is. Damian Lillard let it be known this past season that his lower abs had been in pain for years now, with frequent flare-ups over those years. His time with Team USA led to him speaking with Draymond Green and company who urged him to get the surgery done as soon as possible. 

Despite this, he played 29 games during the 2021-22 seasons, all 29 of which he shouldn’t have suited up for due to the severity of his injury. He averaged the lowest field goal percentage of his career at 40.2% during this span. 

Fast-forward to training camp and bench boss, Chauncey Billups, has stated that Dame is back to being himself. Lillard has also claimed that this is the healthiest he’s felt in years. So, it’s safe to say that him starting off this next chapter in his career starting tonight will have no repercussions in terms of his physical health.