Damian Lillard is now a Portland Trail Blazer for the second time, having re-signed with the team that drafted him in 2012 after he was waived by the Milwaukee Bucks on July 6. It was the end of a two-year sojourn with the Bucks, which unfortunately did not land him the championship he sought after asking to be traded out of Portland in 2023.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard said it was a "luxury" to play with Giannis Antetokounmpo during an interview with Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reflecting on his two years with the Milwaukee Bucks.