On a Sunday night in April, Damian Lillard strode to center court. It was a walk he hadn’t made in a while, thanks to abdominal surgery that shut him down in January and limited him to a career-low 29 appearances. But with the spotlight shining on him once again, the six-time All-NBA selection grabbed the microphone, looked up at the crowd in the stands at Moda Center, and made a promise.
“A tough season, a lot of adversity this year,” Lillard said, moments before tipoff of a 31-point loss to cap the Trail Blazers’ worst campaign in nearly two decades.