Milwaukee Bucks Damian Lillard Out Indefinitely After Blood Clot Diagnosis

The Bucks revealed that Lillard is on blood-thinning medication, which has helped stabilize the blood clot in his calf.

Damian Lillard leaves the court after the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Golden State Warriors 104-93 at Chase Center on March 18, 2025, in San Francisco. Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

With an off day between a Monday defeat to the Phoenix Suns and a Wednesday game at the Denver Nuggets, the Milwaukee Bucks made a stunning announcement: All-Star point guard Damian Lillard would be out indefinitely.

Lillard, who had missed the three previous games due to a calf strain, was revealed to have deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his right calf, a team statement said. DVT is a blood clot specifically located in a deep vein, usually in the leg.

General Manager Jon Horst made the revelation while also disclosing that Lillard was already on blood-thinning medication, which has stabilized the clot.

“Damian’s health is our No. 1 priority,” Horst said. “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.”

Lillard last played in a March 18 loss to the Golden State Warriors in his return to his native Bay Area. Lillard played 38 minutes and finished with 16 points, four assists and three rebounds. Two days later for Milwaukee’s next game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Lillard appeared on the injury report as out due to a calf injury.

He’d also miss Saturday’s game versus the Sacramento Kings, then Monday, when Milwaukee played the Phoenix Suns, head coach Doc Rivers admitted that Lillard was not improving. The nine-time All-Star also missed back-to-back games in late December due to an injury to that same calf.

It has been a trying second season with the Bucks for Lillard, who has also missed time due to an illness, a concussion, and hamstring soreness. Lillard has missed 13 of the team’s 71 games this season. This comes after he was a bit of an iron man early in his career, playing all 82 games in each of his first three NBA seasons and never missing more than nine games in a year through his first nine NBA seasons.

The Bucks are 32-26 when Lillard plays and 8-5 when he does not. He’s averaging 24.9 points, 7.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds in his 13^th NBA season, all in line with his career averages. He’s also averaging a career-high of 1.2 steals and has been a surprising part of Milwaukee’s top 10 defense. Lillard also achieved several personal milestones this season, including surpassing Larry Bird, Gary Payton and Clyde Drexler on the all-time scoring list, on which he’s currently 37^th.

Additionally, the Weber State product notched his 6,000^th career assist this year, making him one of 11 players in NBA history with at least 22,000 points and 6,000 assists.

Milwaukee is already shorthanded while jockeying for a playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Forward Bobby Portis, who finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting in each of the past two seasons, is currently on a 25-game suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug program. He won’t be eligible to return until the team’s third-to-last game of the regular season on April 10.

Portis was third on the team with 13.7 points per game, with Lillard’s scoring average ranking second, which leaves lots on the shoulders of leading scorer Giannis Antetokounmpo (30.2 points per game). With a 4-6 record over their last 10 games, the Bucks are fifth in the East at 40-31. They are two games back of the Indiana Pacers for the coveted No. 4 seed, which would guarantee them home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Lillard is the third big NBA name in recent memory to be diagnosed with DVT. Pistons forward Ausar Thompson was diagnosed with DVT during his rookie season in March 2024 and would miss the final 19 games of the season. While the team cleared him for noncontact drills for the start of the 2024-25 season, he still had to go through the medical process of both the NBA and the players union. As a result, Thompson missed the first 18 games and didn’t debut until Nov. 25, which was roughly eight months after the diagnosis.

Then, just last month, Lillard’s fellow 2025 All-Star Victor Wembanyama was diagnosed with a blood clot in his shoulder. The San Antonio Spurs immediately shut him down for the rest of the season, meaning he’ll miss the Spurs’ final 30 games.

Lillard is under contract with the Bucks for two more seasons, though the last year in 2026-27 is a player option. He was hoping for a better sophomore season with the Bucks than his first one, which saw his scoring dip nearly eight points per game from the previous year as he struggled to adjust with the Bucks after 11 seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard’s 2023-24 season also didn’t end under the best of circumstances as he suffered an Achilles injury during Milwaukee’s first-round playoff series versus the Pacers and would miss Games 4 and 5 as the Bucks were eliminated in six games.