It’s taken some time, but on Friday, the Thunder finally got back on the practice court. The team completed their mandatory quarantine at Walt Disney World and got together as a unit for the first time in about four months.
Andre Roberson was among them.
Both Billy Donovan and Danilo Gallinari couldn’t help but walk away impressed by his contributions. Robertson let it be known that he felt he was past the rehab stage back in April and it seems that he backed his words up with his actions on the practice court.
The 28-year-old last played in a game in January 2018, but if he’s anywhere near the player we last saw, his defensive presence would go a long way toward helping the Thunder stick around in Orlando for a while.
According to Donovan, Roberson was able to fully participate in practice and, the coach said, looked awfully impressive.
“He looked really good,” he was quoted as saying from Orlando.
Gallinari, who communicated with reporters via Zoom from Orlando, was quite happy to see his teammate.
He’s doing great. I’m very happy to see him play because I know what it means to be out for that long with a bad injury. Just to see the joy and energy he brings to the team, it’s great to see him out there with us.
The Thunder will continue with training camps before their first Orlando exhibition game against the Boston Celtics on July 24.
They will then play two other exhibition games before beginning their eight seeding games on August 1 against the Utah Jazz.
