Damian Lillard returns to the Trail Blazers on a 3-year deal worth $42 million

PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard is back where he started.

Lillard signed a three-year deal worth $42 million to return to the Portland Trail Blazers, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been officially announced.

ESPN first reported the deal.

Lillard was the sixth pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Trail Blazers and spent 11 seasons with Portland before he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks just before the 2023-24 season.

The 35-year-old tore his left Achilles tendon during a first-round NBA playoff series against the Indiana Pacers and required surgery. The Bucks waived him earlier this month and stretched the remaining $113 million on his contract.

This past season with the Bucks, Lillard ranked 10th in the league in scoring (24.9) and assists (7.1) while earning his ninth All-Star Game selection.

Lillard posted a video to his Instagram on Thursday of the Trail Blazers’ locker room, ending with a frame of a locker labeled with his name, followed by the words “Together Again.”

He wrote “RipCityyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!”

Lillard averaged 32.2 points his final season in Portland. He became just the seventh player in NBA history to score more than 70 points in a game when he finished with 71 against the Houston Rockets that season.