Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on November 09, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images/AFP
Six-time All-NBA guard Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers are finalizing a two-year max contract extension worth $122 million, multiple reports said Friday.
The extension would keep Lillard under contract with Portland until 2026-27, though that year carries a player option.
Lillard has spent his entire NBA career with the Trail Blazers after they made him the sixth overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft.
Lillard is coming off his most forgettable NBA campaign. He played in a career-low 29 games due to missing the second half of the season with an abdominal injury that ultimately required surgery. During that time, the Blazers also traded away CJ McCollum, his longtime backcourt mate, to the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Blazers finished 27-55, 13th in the Western Conference, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13, Lillard’s rookie year.
Lillard averaged 24.0 points, 7.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds in his limited 2021-22 season. He is two years removed from averaging 30 points and eight assists per game. The six-time All-Star made the All-NBA First Team in 2018 and All-NBA Second Team each of the next three years before the disappointing 2021-22 campaign.
In 711 career games (all starts), Lillard has averaged 24.6 points, 6.6 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 steals. He is a career 37.3 percent 3-point shooter.