Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard will likely be sidelined indefinitely, with the team announcing Tuesday night that he has deep vein thrombosis in his right calf and is taking blood-thinning medication.

The Bucks provided the update on the seven-time all-NBA guard’s status without offering a target date for his potential return. Lillard has missed the last three games for the Bucks, who close a five-game trip Wednesday at Denver.

Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel.

“Damian’s health is our No. 1 priority,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said in a statement. “We will support him as he moves through this weekly process of strict criteria to ensure that it is safe for him to return to play. Doctors have indicated that his situation is very unlikely to occur again. We are thankful that this was identified and medicated quickly, which helps with the recovery.”

The Bucks said Lillard’s medication has stabilized the thrombosis and that he will continue with regular testing.

Lillard, 34, is the second high-profile player to be sidelined this season because of DVT.

Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs was diagnosed with it in his shoulder after he returned from the All-Star Game last month and was quickly ruled out for the season.

He, like Lillard, is on blood-thinning medication, but doctors have assured the Spurs that there is no concern for Wembanyama’s long-term health.

Such cases have affected NBA players before, including Hall of Famer Chris Bosh — whose career was cut short after he was diagnosed with blood clots while playing with Miami. Brandon Ingram, now with the Toronto Raptors, had his 2018-19 season end early because of deep vein thrombosis when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers. Detroit’s Ausar Thompson had a clot issue that saw him miss the end of the 2023-24 season.

DVT typically develops in the lower leg, so the diagnosis of it in Lillard’s calf is not uncommon.

This injury puts on hold a season in which Lillard earned his ninth All-Star Game selection. He was ranked 10th in the NBA in assists (7.1) and 11th in scoring (24.9).

His situation raises the likelihood that the Bucks could open the playoffs without one of their two superstars for a second straight season.

Salary cap rises

The NBA told its teams that it continues to expect a 10% increase in the salary cap next season, meaning it would rise to a record $154.647 million for the 2025-26 campaign.

That’s an increase of just over $14 million from this season and is the maximum percentage jump allowed by the current collective bargaining agreement. The figures sent to teams Tuesday, in a memo obtained by the Associated Press and other outlets, are in line with what the projections have been since at least last summer.

The cap increase means all the other key financial figures for team spending next season will increase accordingly. The minimum team salary projects to rise to $139.182 million, the tax level would go to $187.895 million, the first apron would be $195.945 million and the second apron would be $207.824 million.

The numbers will become finalized around June 30, when the new league year begins.

Also Tuesday, the league said that based on team salaries at this point — they could change by the end of the regular season — it expects there to be around $460 million in luxury tax payments, half of which go toward revenue sharing and the other half split in equal shares of about $11.5 million to each of the 20 teams that are not in the tax.