PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — It hit Damian Lillard as he drove home with his kids after signing a contract to return to the Portland Trail Blazers. He was coming home.

Lillard signed a three-year deal reportedly worth $42 million to return to the Portland Trail Blazers, the team announced Saturday. Lillard, 35, was the sixth pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Trail Blazers and spent 11 seasons with Portland before he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks just before the 2023-24 season.

After signing a three-year, $45 million deal to return to the Blazers, Lillard said "it never felt right, not being home.”