Eighteen months is a long time to wonder. Damian Lillard — Weber State's most decorated NBA alumnus — spent all of last season watching from the sideline after tearing his Achilles, a brutal wait for a player who had just engineered a return to Portland. When he finally stepped back onto the Moda Center floor for the 2026-27 season opener against the Phoenix Suns on October 22, the answer to every lingering question arrived fast.
Lillard dropped 25 points, hit six three-pointers, and dished six assists in just 23 minutes as the Trail Blazers obliterated Phoenix 124-83. Portland opened the game with a 21-0 run — the largest scoring run to open any NBA game in the past 25 years — and never looked back, ultimately winning by 41. The Wildcat product finished a ridiculous +23 on the night.
If that felt like a statement, Lillard wasn't done making it.
Two nights later in Sacramento, he posted 19 points, five rebounds, two steals, and a block against the Kings in a 128-120 Portland win — this time logging 32 minutes and finishing +19. Back-to-back wins, back-to-back dominant performances, and a clear message: the torn Achilles took the time, not the player.
The context matters. Lillard returned not just from injury but from a chapter that never quite fit — his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks, which ended with a trade back to Portland before the Achilles gave out. He revealed ahead of the opener that the injury represented the darkest moment of his NBA career. The 21-0 run Portland uncorked in his return felt like the league's loudest possible answer to that darkness.
The backdrop adds intrigue. Lillard is now paired with Ja Morant in Portland's backcourt — a pairing that drew skepticism before a single game was played. Charles Barkley called Portland the "worst place" for Morant. Lillard had thoughts on that crowd after the Suns blowout, publicly dismissing the critics. Through two games, the early returns are hard to argue with.
For Weber State fans, the résumé keeps building. Lillard — who starred for the Wildcats in Ogden before becoming a lottery pick — is now in his age-36 season playing some of the most efficient ball of his opening week. Two games, 44 combined points, a +42 combined plus-minus, and a franchise-record-tying performance in game one. Dame Time, it turns out, has no injury clock.
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