Damian Lillard is going to be paid handsomely to rehab his torn Achilles.
The star guard agreed to a three-year, $42 million contract to return to the Trail Blazers on Thursday, 11 days after he was released by the Bucks to make room for Myles Turner. The news was first reported by ESPN. Lillard tore his Achilles in April in a playoff game against the Pacers.
Lillard’s contract includes a player option in the 2027–28 season and a no-trade clause, making him the second player in the NBA to have one after Bradley Beal was bought out of his Suns contract on Wednesday. LeBron James is the other player with one.
The Bucks’ decision to waive Lillard meant the team had to stretch the remaining $113 million on his contract, making it the highest buyout in NBA history. Lillard will now make $70 million total next season and $141 million over the next two years, according to ESPN.
Perhaps the closest comparison to Lillard’s situation comes from Kevin Durant. In 2019, Durant signed a four-year, $164 million contract with the Nets weeks after tearing his Achilles in the NBA Finals with the Warriors. He didn’t play the entire 2019–20 season, but he made $38 million, plus a $1 million bonus for the Nets clinching a playoff spot. Lillard’s income next season will be almost double Durant’s income the year he sat out.
Lillard’s earnings the next two seasons are unprecedented in the NBA. He was on a max contract and is now getting more than that. His $70 million next season easily beats Steph Curry, who is slated to make just under $60 million for the season as the NBA’s highest-paid player. Curry will make roughly $122 million between next season and the 2026–27 season, which makes Lillard the NBA’s top earner. For context, Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recently signed a four-year, $285 million extension that will make him the NBA’s first $70 million player in the 2029–30 season. Lillard, albeit with two teams paying him, beat Gilgeous-Alexander to the $70 million mark by five years.
A nine-time All-Star, Lillard is one of the most iconic players in Trail Blazers history and played the first 11 seasons of his career in Portland before being traded to Milwaukee in 2023. Lillard will be 36 when he returns to the court and already has $328,751,088 in career earnings, according to Spotrac. The $141 million Lillard will make the next two years represents roughly 43% of his career earnings to date.
Lillard was able to secure a no-trade clause with Portland despite playing the past two years for the Bucks. To get a no-trade clause, a player must have at least eight years of service time in the NBA, plus four years of it with the team he’s signing with, according to the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Lillard met the criteria because of his first stint with the organization.
