{"id":159551,"date":"2025-09-26T10:19:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T14:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=159551"},"modified":"2025-09-26T10:19:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T14:19:54","slug":"damian-lillard-portland-trail-blazers-young-core","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/09\/26\/damian-lillard-portland-trail-blazers-young-core\/","title":{"rendered":"Damian Lillard Believes in Portland Trail Blazers’ Young Core"},"content":{"rendered":"

Portland’s future is bright with the Trail Blazers’ young core. This is boosted by Damian Lillard<\/a>‘s belief in his new teammates.\u00a0 With Billups’ system finally realizing its potential, the youth could be a strong foundation.<\/p>\n

Damian Lillard Believes in Portland Trail Blazers’ Young Core<\/h2>\n

Damian Lillard<\/a> is recovering from a torn Achilles, which has ruled him out for the 2025-26 season. Despite this ailment, Lillard will be a prominent cheerleader<\/a> on the sidelines. After his tenure in Milwaukee ended abruptly, Lillard knew returning to the Portland Trail Blazers was the right move.<\/p>\n

Not only is he at home with his family, but he is also playing for the organization that knows him. At the same time, he has seen the progress the Trail Blazers have made since 2023.<\/p>\n

Portland’s Future is In Good Hands<\/h3>\n

Even while Lillard is sidelined, the Blazers have impressive depth<\/a>. It is a great mix of experienced veterans and promising young players. Defensively, Billups’ team has top-tier potential<\/a>, as they could keep up with any team.<\/p>\n

Offensively, they still have some things to work on. Scoot Henderson<\/a> and Shaedon Sharpe<\/a> have shown flashes of brilliance, but they are still in the process of development. Despite these problems, Lillard has shown full faith in the Blazers’ young core.<\/p>\n

From the young core, he has only played with Sharpe before. Despite that, Lillard watched Blazers games while he was in Milwaukee. He kept track of the team and sees massive potential from players like Henderson, Toumani Camara<\/a>, and Donovan Clingan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I want to step out there, and everybody says, ‘That’s a real team.’ I want to represent the Blazers in that way. When we get to the tip, I want them to look at us and know this team is there,” Lillard said at his homecoming event<\/a> on Sept. 21.<\/p>\n

“When I look at our team, and I look at the guys. I got to see them from a distance before I came back to be part of the team. I love what I see. Being a part of that is what I’m most excited about.”<\/p>\n

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Scoot Henderson to Shaedon Sharpe assists pic.twitter.com\/rj748MDS0F<\/a><\/p>\n

— Blazers Lead (@BlazersLead) August 30, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n