Orlando Magic swingman James Ennis revealed Wednesday that he tested positive for the coronavirus several weeks ago and recently rejoined his team.
"It was tough," Ennis said during a video call with reporters. "Just quarantined away from your family a little bit so I was in a separate room for about two weeks. And it's just tough not being able to work out and prepare for this, this bubble. But I'm just happy to be back on the court; trying to get my legs under me, just trying to get back in rhythm."
Ennis, who was averaging 6 points and 3.3 rebounds a game before the NBA suspended its season on March 11, admitted that he is "rusty" as he works his way back from the virus.
"I lost my wind," Ennis said. "I'm rusty, honestly. So I got to shake the dust off of me. By that, I got to stay in the gym. I got to keep doing the little things to get my body back right and stuff like that, get my legs under me. I'm ready, I'm here, my focus is at 100, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get back to two-weeks James, prior to having the COVID. I'm ready. I'm excited."
Ennis noted that he experienced many symptoms while fighting the virus.
"I had a headache for like four to five days," Ennis said. "First 24 hours I was down, throwing up. But now my health is better, I'm just trying to get my wind up and my legs back under me and just get in rhythm because our first scrimmage is next week. I just want to be prepared for that."
Wednesday marked the fourth day for Ennis in the bubble, and his first practice with the Magic at the Wide World of Sports complex at Disney -- after clearing quarantine inside the bubble.
Ennis said he stayed in touch with teammates via a group text chain and got support from family and friends.
"When I got it I was like, 'Man, it's always something for me,'" Ennis said. "I always have a speed bump. I just talked to my mom, she said everything happened for a reason. 'God has you, stay with it.' One day at a time, itching to get back, and now I'm on the court so it's all good now."
"I'm really happy for James to be back on the court," Magic guard Michael Carter-Williams said. "I know he's excited. I was checking up on him while he was in quarantine. It's a scary thing and I know he's happy to be out here with us, it's hard to be stuck in a room. So he's excited, I'm happy for him."
On another bright note for the Magic, guard Markelle Fultz rejoined the team inside the Disney bubble on Wednesday and will begin his own quarantine before joining practices. Fultz was excused from the team to attend to a personal matter before players' arrival at Disney. His absence was not COVID-19 related, according to the Magic.
Magic coach Steve Clifford acknowledged that while his players are turning up the energy in practice, they are still a long way away from where they would normally be during a regular training camp. His honest assessment offers a glimpse at where the rest of the league may be when seeding games begin later this month.
"We're not close to a training camp yet," Clifford said. "These early games, they're always a bit of a crapshoot in our league, and this experience will be even more so. I think people have to understand, these guys just took whatever it was, 9-10 weeks without playing basketball, they never do that in an offseason, so we're quite a ways away from where we'd be in a normal training camp situation."