Blowing out an Achilles is a devastating harm, irrespective of the age. However for a veteran NBA participant, it could nearly be a career-ending second.
As each basketball fan is aware of by now, nine-time All-Star Damian Lillard tore his Achilles throughout Milwaukee’s latest (transient) playoff run. He obtained surgical procedure on the harm on Friday, Might 2, and is anticipated to overlook the whole lot of 2025-26 as he recovers.
Even with Lillard’s unnatural therapeutic means, it will be a complete shock if he returns to the NBA hardwood subsequent season. In any case, when Grant Hill tore his Achilles on Jan. 16, 2003, he didn’t return to NBA motion till Nov. 3, 2004. Extra just lately, Kevin Durant tore his Achilles throughout the 2019 NBA Finals on June 10, 2019, and didn’t return till Dec. 22, 2020.
Even with fashionable drugs, a torn Achilles is a year-plus layoff, nearly assured.
Based on our analysis, if Lillard misses all of 2025-26 and returns to make an All-Star roster after that, he can be an enormous outlier.
As of now, Anthony Mason is the oldest participant in NBA historical past to overlook a full season resulting from harm and nonetheless make an All-Star look after. Mason was 32 on the time of his harm and form of a weak All-Star choice, too, averaging simply 16 factors and 10 rebounds when he obtained picked in ’01. (To his credit score, he was a fantastic defender and performed an enormous half in a 50-win Miami workforce that yr.)
Lillard is at the moment 34 and turns 35 this summer time, so he’d shatter the file of being the oldest participant to make an All-Star workforce after lacking a full season resulting from harm… if he’s in a position to pull that off.
What’s extra, solely Durant and Tiny Archibald made multiple All-Star look after lacking a whole season resulting from harm. Oh, and solely Durant Kawhi Leonard made one other All-NBA workforce after lacking a full season of their 30s. Of significance to Lillard, the oldest guard to overlook a whole season resulting from harm and return to make an All-Star look after was Archibald, and he was 29 when he obtained harm, not 34 like Lillard.
So the chances are stacked a bit in opposition to Lillard right here.
After all, if anybody can pull it off, it’s Lillard. In any case, he did return from a blood clot situation in lower than a month.
It simply gained’t be straightforward.
Beneath, take a look at the oldest NBA gamers in league historical past to overlook a whole season and make an All-Star workforce after that, an inventory Lillard will probably be hoping to hitch at some point.
Notice: NBA legend Kobe Bryant by no means missed a whole season resulting from harm. However he nearly did, again in 2013-14, his age-35 marketing campaign, when he performed in simply six video games. After he returned, he made two extra All-Star appearances earlier than his profession ended. Nonetheless, these All-Star nods have been extra like nods to his profession as an entire, as a result of in his final two seasons within the NBA, Bryant wasn’t fairly taking part in at an precise All-Star degree.
Once more, that is to say, Lillard severely has his work minimize out for him right here to return to All-Star degree.
MATT CAMPBELL/AFP through Getty Pictures
Age when he missed a full season: 32
Age of first All-Star after harm: 34
All-Star appearances after harm: 1
Mason missed the whole 1998-99 season resulting from a bicep harm, a troubling situation contemplating he was already 32 years previous. However he got here again at a reasonably strong degree, averaging 13.8 factors, 9.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.0 steals in his first two campaigns (’00 and ’01) following his season-long layoff.
In that point, he made one All-Star look, completed eighth in Defensive Participant of the Yr voting twice and even completed fifteenth in MVP voting in 2000-01 in Miami.
To this present day, Mason stays the oldest participant to overlook a full season resulting from harm and return to make one other All-Star look, a feat Lillard will now probably be chasing.
Photograph by David Berding/Getty Pictures
Age when he missed a full season: 31
Age of first All-Star after harm: 32
All-Star appearances after harm: 5
All-NBA appearances after harm: 2
Kudos to Durant that he was in a position to miss a whole season at 31 years previous and return on the degree he got here again at. In Recreation 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals, as a member of the Golden State Warriors, Durant ruptured his Achilles. He wouldn’t return to the NBA hardwood till 18 months later.
Following the season-long layoff, Durant got here again in still-excellent kind, making 5 All-Star appearances, two 2nd Workforce All-NBAs and ending High 10 in MVP voting twice since his Achilles harm.
Durant is the usual for Achilles harm restoration in fashionable athletes.
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE through Getty Pictures
Age when he missed a full season: 31
Age of first All-Star after harm: 32
All-Star appearances after harm: 1
As a result of a hard ankle harm, Hill was pressured the whole 2003-04 season, as a 31-year-old, after he underwent a process during which docs actually re-fractured his ankle to line it again up correctly. Hill suffered a complication after the surgical procedure, too, creating MRSA, which will be very harmful.
Hill’s rapid return after the season-long layoff was promising, as in 2004-05, the previous Duke star put up a 20/4/3 stat line on almost 51 % taking pictures from the ground, incomes All-Star honors. Hill did get named an All-Star by fan vote that yr, although, so possibly one can query the last word validity of that All-Star choice. He was fairly good, however the Magic have been mediocre general that season. This might have been extra like followers being pleased to see Hill again and acting at a excessive degree, in order that they voted him in as an All-Star starter.
That may be the final All-Star look of Hill’s profession, nonetheless. To his credit score, Hill did play one other 9 seasons after lacking his complete age-31 marketing campaign, and was a really efficient function participant all the way in which till he was 40, no small feat contemplating simply how injury-riddled he was in his prime.
Photograph by Ronald Martinez/Getty Pictures
Age when he missed a full season: 30
Age of first All-Star after harm: 32
All-Star appearances after harm: 1
All-NBA appearances after harm: 1
After tearing his ACL within the 2021 playoffs, Leonard missed the whole 2021-22 season, his age-30 marketing campaign. Though he has missed time right here and there since then resulting from extra harm troubles, when he’s on the market, Leonard stays an All-Star-level participant.
Since his season-long layoff, Leonard has one All-Star and one 2nd Workforce All-NBA season, each honors of which got here in 2023-24. Leonard then missed a whole lot of 2024-25 however did play like an All-Star in his 37 appearances this common season, averaging over 21 factors, 5 rebounds and three assists per sport whereas securing 1.6 steals nightly.
However Leonard’s harm wasn’t as difficult to return again from as Lillard’s, and he was significantly youthful than Lillard on the time he missed a whole marketing campaign.
Dick Raphael/NBAE through Getty Pictures
Age when he missed a full season: 29
Age of first All-Star after harm: 34
All-Star appearances after harm: 1
All-NBA appearances after harm: 1
On the peak of his absolute prime in 1984-85, New York Knicks legend Bernard King suffered a devastating leg harm, one which included a torn ACL, a torn meniscus and a femur fracture.
The harm, which got here in a season during which King was main the league in scoring at 32.9 factors per sport, value King the whole ’86 marketing campaign, which might have been his age-29 league yr. King would then play simply six video games in 1986-87.
For King to return again from an harm that grotesque in any respect is a testomony to his psychological power. And the truth that in ’89 and ’90, he’d play in 81 and 82 video games, respectively, was much more spectacular.
The most effective particular person season of King’s profession following the horrifying harm got here years later, in 1990-91, when he was named an All-Star and made third Workforce All-NBA, and completed sixteenth within the MVP vote. That yr, King put up 28.4 factors, 5.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists per contest, albeit whereas main the league in shot makes an attempt and taking part in for a 30-52 Washington Bullets workforce.
Nonetheless, a particularly spectacular marketing campaign by King contemplating all he had been by way of bodily at that time.
Malcolm Emmons
Age when he missed a full season: 29
Age of first All-Star after harm: 31
All-Star appearances after harm: 3
All-NBA appearances after harm: 1
After an injury-riddled 1976-77 season with the New York Nets, Corridor of Famer Tiny Archibald was traded to the Buffalo Braves. Sadly for each Archibald and the Braves, the UTEP product by no means performed a minute for the Braves, as he tore his Achilles and missed the whole 1977-78 season, his age-29 marketing campaign.
The truth that Archibald had a Corridor of Fame profession will get all of the extra spectacular while you understand that wasn’t even the primary Achilles tear of his profession, however the second. The primary of his got here in 1973-74.
Archibald got here again robust from his second Achilles harm, ending High 5 within the MVP vote in 1979-80 and being named an All-Star with the Boston Celtics, earlier than then incomes two extra All-Star honors, in addition to one other High 10 MVP end and a 2nd Workforce All-NBA.
The electrical level guard could be underrated traditionally, as Archibald overcame two Achilles tears to earn a number of All-Star honors in his early to mid-30s.
Archibald is the oldest guard in NBA historical past to make an All-Star look after lacking a whole season resulting from harm.
Can Lillard take that honor from him? It’ll be an uphill battle, but when anybody can do it, it’s somebody like Lillard.
