By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
What a huge blow for the Milwaukee Bucks.
With only 11 NBA regular season games remaining before the playoffs begin, their superstar point guard, Damian Lillard, has been shut down indefinitely announced on March 26, 2025.
According to the Milwaukee Bucks franchise, Lillard will be sidelined due to a deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) in his right calf. He is currently taking blood-thinning medication to stabilize the clot.
Lillard last played for the Bucks on March 19, 2025, and has missed the next three games against the Lakers, Sacramento, and Phoenix.
During that three-game period, Milwaukee still didn’t disclose the blood clot but only listed Lillard with a general ‘calf injury’ description.
Lillard is currently having a consistent season with Milwaukee and is averaging 24.9 points, 7.1 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 58 total games played.
Together with Giannis Antetokounmpo, the 1-2 punch led Milwaukee to a 40-31 win-loss record and is sitting at the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference.
“We will support him as he moves through this weekly process of strict criteria to ensure that it is safe for him to return to play. Doctors have indicated that his situation is very unlikely to occur again. We are thankful that this was identified and medicated quickly, which helps with the recovery,” said Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst.
Lillard is dealing with the same injury that forced the San Antonio Spurs to shut down Victor Wembanyama for the rest of the season.
The French superstar is having a sensational season as an NBA sophomore but the Spurs medical staff diagnosed him with a blood clot in his right shoulder the moment he arrived in San Antonio after the All-Star festivity.
Without Lillard in the next set of games, the Bucks will have to rely on their young floor general, Ryan Rollins, who already started filling the starting point guard role for Milwaukee.
Rollins picked up where Lillard left off in his start against the Lakers, tallying 10 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
However, inconsistency is still shaking up the youngster as he recorded no points against the Kings and bounced back with eight markers versus Phoenix.
