Damian Lillard’s Legend Is Rising With Portland Trail Blazer Reunion – Oregon Sports News

Damian Lillard is coming home.

After two years gone from the franchise that drafted him, Lillard is returning to the Portland Trail Blazers in one of the most shocking twists this NBA season. 

In returning, Dame is playing by his own rules instead of anyone else’s. And he’s writing a new chapter in one of the league’s most unique, respected careers we’ve ever seen.

On Thursday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Lillard would rejoin the team on a three-year, $42 million deal. NBA Insider Chris Haynes added that this had been underway for weeks, with Lillard and Joe Cronin making amends at Lillard’s home, finalizing a deal that could allow Dame to retire in Portland.

First of all, wow. 

The day Portland traded Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks, fans were already dreaming of this return. Most, of course, pictured it happening a couple more years down the road, and after Dame had captured that elusive championship. 

But that’s the thing with Lillard. Just when you think the story is written—even a future story we (including Dame himself) concocted in our heads—he finds a way to flip the script.

Coming Home

Returning to Portland right now isn’t about chasing a ring. Nobody would claim it is, even if the Trail Blazers have a roster that might be more Dame-friendly than ever. (More on that later.)

This move is about roots. It’s about a star who paved his own superstar path, and it’s about someone who meant as much to Rip City off the court as he did on it.

For over a decade, Lillard was Portland. He repped Rip City (also pronounced: RipCityyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!) as an All-Star and a long-range innovator.

In so many ways, he was also a playoff icon. But he was also a Special Olympics Global Ambassador. He is the face of The Lillard Foundation, supporting Oregon’s youth through athletics, academics, and community support.

When Lillard was traded, the vibes between him and Cronin plummeted. But the down vibes were never about the city, and as local reporters cited at the time, his relationship with the young GM had been positive prior, and there was a belief they’d get back there someday. 

Should Dame Have Ring-Chased First? 

Ultimately, there’s something powerful about a homecoming. Think Kevin Garnett to Minnesota. Allen Iverson to Philly. LeBron back to Cleveland. 

These aren’t just signings; they’re full-circle, legendary moments. And Dame’s decision has now entered the chat.

For the record, rejoining Portland does not, and will not, diminish Lillard’s legacy. Period. 

If anything, it adds depth. 

In recent weeks, rumors spread about teams like the Boston Celtics recruiting Dame. Lakers fans had eyes for the guard as well. And you know Heat fans got in on the action, too.

Yet, when Lillard entered unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career, he did what he felt was right, not what others have always said is right.

During his first Portland go-around, critics mocked Lillard shamelessly for staying loyal. Going forward, some will point to a lack of rings, if that’s where he’s at when he hangs up the sneakers for good. But the résumé has always spoken for itself.

Just this week, Lillard ranked No. 64 in Bleacher Report’s list of the 100 greatest players ever. He’s a Hall of Fame lock as a nine-time All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA member, one of just four players ever (at the time) named a unanimous Rookie of the Year, and he’s authored two of the most iconic playoff buzzer-beaters in league history.

A ring would add shine. And it would boost Lillard’s all-time ranking whether he earned it in Portland, New York, or any market in between. 

But Dame is the last player who needs it to validate his status in the game, which is that of a legend. And he’s decided that finishing his career his way is what’s most important. 

One Last Run

Of course, Lillard isn’t coming back for the vibes alone.

At his home in Portland, he and Cronin would have talked about more than rehab and nostalgia, because today the Blazers have a roster with size, defense, versatility, and potential. 

Cronin is clearly fast-tracking his attempt to compete. That suits Dame (and everyone) well for his post-injury return a year from now. 

In the end, Lillard doesn’t just get to come home—he gets one more shot with the team he wanted to win with all along. 

And after following his entire career, that tracks. 

Dame was well within his rights to ask out before he did, and nobody would’ve blamed him. But he never took the easy way out, a trademark feature of his career that dates back to college, when bigger programs called, yet he stayed at Weber State. 

“I come from a family of hard-working, loyal people,” Lillard told me the summer he was drafted during an interview at the Adidas Headquarters in Portland. 

“That’s why I went to Weber State.”

When I asked if he felt the same connection with the Trail Blazers—the team that had just taken a chance on a mid-major guard in the lottery—he said:

”I feel like they trusted themselves to take me sixth. I really don’t know them extremely well … hopefully, we can build that type of relationship.”

Today, maybe more than any other, proves how special that relationship became, and how true to his word Dame has always been. 

Whether or not Dame lifts a banner in Portland, he’s already lifted a franchise, and he’s earned a lifetime of love in Rip City.

In the words of legendary Blazers broadcaster Brian Wheeler: It’s a great day to be a Blazer.

And if there’s one more deep playoff run left in Dame and this team after all?

The legend can only grow from here.