A story that is swimming under the radar this summer is Damian Lillard returning to the Trail Blazers. Dame Time was waived by the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason due to his torn Achilles injury that sidelined him at the beginning of the 2025 playoffs. A few days later, Lillard signed a very modest three-year $42 million contract to go back to Portland, a city he has called home for quite some time.
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Despite the underwhelming time in Wisconsin, Dame has said multiple times that he’s appreciative of his time with the Bucks. After being waived, Lillard claimed that he had no regrets about leaving Portland for a chance to win with Cream City.
To say Blazers fans are excited to have Dame back is an understatement. Portland basketball was his for many years, and despite never winning a ring, his legacy for the team and the city cannot be denied. Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart recognize it. The Knicks stars spoke about Lillard’s return during a recent interview on their Roommates Show podcast.
“Dame should have a practice facility named after him or something,” began Hart, who immediately got some lip from Brunson. “Of all things, a practice facility?” Brunson jokingly asked. “He got to get something, bro. He’s gonna get his jersey retired. He should get a statue,” responded Hart.
This led to Brunson asking another question, but one that will be considered important in basketball circles. “Is he better than Clyde?” Clyde, of course, is Clyde Drexler, the 10-time All-Star who played for the Blazers from 1983-1995. “I think as a basketball player, he’s better than Clyde Drexler. But Clyde has a championship,” stated Brunson.
It might seem sacrilegious to badmouth Drexler in the city of Portland due to his commitment to that franchise for over a decade. But what Brunson would later find out is that Drexler’s one NBA title win wasn’t in Portland; it was in Houston. Once he determined that, he doubled down on ranking Dame higher than the NBA legend.
“I think Dame is a better basketball player just because of the way the game has grown. The game’s just getting better and better. So Dame’s a better basketball player, but Bill Walton won a ring for Portland. That means a lot,” said the 28-year-old baller.
Look, it’s impossible not to bring up the lack of a ring for Dame because of how prominent ring culture has become in the conversation. But it would also be silly to ever mention the Blazers and not immediately bring up Dame.
He’s created a number of magic moments, including two walk-off three-pointers to send the Blazers ahead in the playoffs that get looped on every greatest NBA moments list ever made. Not to mention the fact that he himself is ecstatic to be back home.
“Just knowing that I’m going to be back home for all parts of my life, with my kids, playing for the Trail Blazers, driving on the same streets that I’ve driven on pretty much my entire adulthood, my whole family being here, my mom, my brother, my sisters, all my friends around the city of Portland. All of those things count. I wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon,” he said shortly after the news broke.
Now, the question of whether or not he deserves a statue will vary. Personally, retiring his jersey and renaming a street after Dame, much like they did with Drexler, would be an honorable trait enough. Now, if Dame Time manages to bring home at least one ring for them before he retires for good? Then they can start on the statue.
Lillard has been, and still is, one of the most exciting players the league has seen. The anticipation for his first game back as a Blazer will be off the charts, similar to when Klay Thompson finally returned from his severe injury that shelved him for nearly two seasons. When that day comes, basketball fans will eat the joy that is Dame Time.
