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With teams ramping up preparations for the season restart this month at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Darius Bazley said that he is healthy again and ready to play.
Bazley missed 11 games prior to the season shut down on March 11 due to a bone bruise in his right knee. He was set to miss 4-6 weeks due to the injury but was able to take his time during rehab once the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Bazley told reporters on Monday that he worked out often during quarantine in an attempt to stay in shape for when the season would resume. Thunder head coach Billy Donovan said Bazley improved over the summer and the rookie offered some details of the work he put in.
I’ve been ready since back when we didn’t know if there was going to be a season or not. This whole pandemic has given me some time to recover even more. I’m 100% ready to go. During the whole pandemic, I was just working on the mechanics of my shooting, just getting up a lot of reps trying to stay in shape.
Bazley compared life in the bubble to his time interning at New Balance since when he wasn’t working, he was often playing video games, talking to his friends and reading the Bible — all things he is doing at Disney. He has also been seen fishing and playing cornhole with his teammates.
The Thunder to return to action Aug. 1 vs. the Utah Jazz.
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