PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Trail Blazers superstar point guard Damian Lillard has agreed to a two-year, $122M extension that will keep him in Portland through the 2026-27 season, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.
The deal extends Lillard's current contract to five years and nearly $270 million, making him one of the top earners in NBA history, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Lillard, who turns 32 on July 15, has played all 10 seasons of his NBA career in Portland. He trails Clyde Drexler as the franchise's all-time leading scorer by just 530 points. If he maintains his career scoring average of 24.6 points per game next season, he'll pass Drexler 22 games into next season.
Last season, Lillard played in only 29 games and averaged 24.0 points per game, the worst scoring average since his third year in the league. He also registered career lows in field-goal percentage (40.2%) and 3-point accuracy (32.4%).
The reason for the decline last season was likely Lillard's abdomen, which he said had bothered him for the past four seasons. In January, he decided to undergo surgery. In a press conference shortly after, Lillard said the surgeon asked him how he played with the injury over multiple seasons. By all accounts, Lillard is completely healed and will be ready to go next season.
That's good news for the Blazers, because when he's healthy, Lillard has been a Top 10 player in the league, a fearsome scorer and playmaker. In 711 career games, he's averaged 24.6 points, 6.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 steal and shot 43.7% from the field, 37.3% from 3 and 89.3% from the free-throw line.
The extension Lillard agreed to tacks on an additional two years to the three years remaining on his current contract. In the 2026-27 season, Lillard will be 36 years old. How good will he still be at that age? For his part, he thinks he'll be great.
"My game is not based on me playing above the rim. I'm a sniper. I shoot. I got a good step. I can think the game. I can manipulate the game, and I know how to play. My game will age well," Lillard told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports in March.
Whether Lillard's game ages well is impossible to predict. Basketball-reference.com lists Reggie Miller, George Gervin, Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Manu Ginobili, Gary Payton, Kevin Johnson and Kobe Bryant as Lillard's statistical comps at this point in his career.
Some of those players, like Miller and Ginobili, continued to play at a high level once they reached their age 35 and 36 seasons. Others on the list saw their games decline by that stage of their careers or retired before they reached that age.
So the extension carries some risk to it. But Lillard has been loyal and committed to the franchise that drafted him 10 seasons ago. And now the team is extending that same level of loyalty and commitment to him.'