After 2½ years sidelined by a devastating knee injury, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Andre Roberson made his return to the court Friday and, without fans in the building, entered to a standing ovation from his teammates, coaches and team staffers.
"It was definitely not what I imagined," Roberson said, "but I wasn't taking stepping on that court for granted."
Roberson entered midway through the third quarter, playing 12 minutes and scoring five points with two rebounds.
"It was a lot of emotions -- anxious, happy, overly ecstatic just to get back out there on that floor and hear Coach call my name," Roberson said. "He gave me a heads-up at halftime I was going to go in, so just getting myself ready. The nerves just started rattling, I don't know if you guys could tell it, but it felt great to be back out there."
A former All-Defensive team selection, Roberson suffered his initial injury in January 2018 when he made a cut to the basket, his left knee buckled and he ruptured his patellar tendon. After rehab, he had a setback nine months later before the beginning of the 2018-19 season, then another setback six weeks later when he had a small fracture in his knee. He entered the 2019-20 season hopeful to play but wasn't able to progress enough to be ready for the season.
"When I first got traded to OKC, I went down there to work out with the team, and Dre, it was his first day on the court, trying to play pickup. And he had a setback," Chris Paul said. "I used to play against Dre year in and year out, and got a chance to see him through this whole process and the hard work he's put in, so it was an unbelievable feeling for us to see one of our brothers who we know what he's been through mentally."
Roberson stepped away from the team last December to continue his rehab individually in Los Angeles, returning shortly after the All-Star break. But even with him making progress, it appeared unlikely he'd play in the 2019-20 season.
"The circumstances that took place I think gave him this opportunity, so to see him out there playing this game that we all love, it's special," Paul said. "For everybody on our team."
Roberson said he felt "great" in his debut, moving well as he adjusted to adding some muscle and scaling up to play primarily power forward. He scored his first points on a tip-in and later confidently knocked down a corner 3. As he exited the court early in the fourth quarter, every member of the team came over to high-five him.
"The guys couldn't have been any more excited for him." Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "Certainly, the staff was very excited for him. I know I was, just seeing what he has gone through for the last two years. And then I think you were able to see glimpses of what's made him such a great defensive player, the things that he does do and just how smart he is, his ability with his feet, his length. He actually played really, really well. And I give him a lot of credit for a guy that's had off for as long as he has to get out there in the first competitive situation and then do a great job. I couldn't be any happier, forget about the way he played even though he played great. I was just happy that he could be out there playing."