The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a very untimely blow late in the season following the announcement that Damian Lillard would miss time due to a blood clot in his calf.
Blood clots have often ended players’ seasons prematurely. However, in Lillard’s case, the 2025 season might not be lost for him after all. ESPN’s Shams Charania revealed the latest on Lillard’s recovery and his chances of returning on the Pat McAfee Show.
“My understanding is, doctors are encouraged by where it’s at,” Charania said regarding Lillard’s recovery. “They see that that blood clot is actually lowering. It’s decreasing. It’s diminishing, and he’s doing some light workouts right now. He’s hopeful to get cleared in the next week or week and a half to go full-go and then resume basketball in games for the Bucks.”
The Bucks are 41-34, which places them as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference with seven games to go. It’s unclear when Lillard will be back, but with the Bucks being only one game behind the Detroit Pistons for the No. 5 seed, his presence could make all the difference.
Even if he doesn’t return before the regular season ends, it sounds like Lillard will be back for the playoffs, which would make the Bucks all the more of a threat with the squad at full strength.
Milwaukee’s 2024 playoff run didn’t go well because they didn’t have their full squad. Even if their season didn’t go as well as planned beforehand, not having Giannis Antetokounmpo for the postseason ultimately sealed their fate. Having Antetokounmpo and Lillard at least gives the Bucks a puncher’s chance.
The 2025 season hasn’t gone much better than 2024 did, but the Bucks deserve to have their roster healthy for when the stakes are at their highest.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
MORE MILWAUKEE BUCKS NEWS
Bucks shockingly predicted to swap Giannis Antetokounmpo for $146 million Western Conference All-Star
Bucks’ Damian Lillard gives ambiguous comments after blood clot diagnosis
