Nassir Little’s face lit up when Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts told him to enter Thursday night’s 135-117 win over Minnesota in the fourth quarter.
“When coach called his name, he started smiling right away and everybody on the bench kind of laughed about it,” guard Damian Lillard said.
Little, who missed the start of the season after testing positive for COVID-19, said he didn’t notice his teammates laughing about how happy he became because he was too busy hustling to check into the game. He’d almost forgotten how.
“It kind of took me a second to realize how to take off my jacket and my pants and all that stuff and check into a game,” he said. “It felt brand new again.”
Little entered the action at the 7:47 mark of the fourth quarter and played until the final buzzer. With 4:30 remaining in the game, he sank a fadeaway jumper to score his first points in nearly a year.
For the 2019 first-round pick, those seven minutes seemed like heaven.
“It’s been a while since I played in a regulation NBA game,” he said. “Just to get back on that court, it felt really good.”
Little hadn’t appeared in a game since March 10, 2020, when he played about 90 seconds against Phoenix. That proved to be the final time Portland played before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the NBA season.
While preparing for the NBA’s restart at the bubble in Orlando, Florida, Little suffered a concussion when he hit his head on the court in late July. After he recovered, he remained on the injured list due to dehydration.
“I’ve been through a lot these past four or five months,” Little said.
The Blazers were set to start training camp on Dec. 6 when practices were delayed because three members of the organization, including one player, tested positive for COVID-19. The franchise didn’t name the player. Videos released by the team from practices showed everyone on the roster participating except for Little and Zach Collins, who was out at the time recovering from ankle surgery. After Little didn’t show up for the team’s first two preseason games against Sacramento on Dec. 11 and 13, it became clear that he was the player who tested positive.
Little said the ordeal proved difficult.
“It got pretty bad,” Little said. “I didn’t have any problems with like, breathing or anything, but I had super bad headaches. My body was hurting. I couldn’t eat food or really drink water like that. I was having fevers and chills and all that type of stuff, so that was pretty bad. But the team was being super supportive of me.”
Little said he leaned on his friends and family to pick him up at times when he became down.
“I knew I’d be OK,” he said. “I knew I’d get through it, which I did.”
Stotts said players stayed connected with Little to keep him up to date with the goings on with the team and he would check in, as well. But there were plenty of times when Little simply didn’t want to be bothered.
“I think everybody tried to reach out to him, but not go overboard with it at the same time,” Stotts said.
Little said he spent his good days watching television, playing video games or taking a walk in his backyard. But there were some days when he would feel intensely ill and just didn’t want to do anything other than listen to music and try to take his mind off the pain.
“Sometimes I’d just lay there,” he said.
Little said he has no lingering issues and is fully recovered. After losing weight, he’s built his strength back up and feels good physically.
Little emphasized how important it is for people to take the virus seriously by protecting themselves and others. Nothing, he said, is worth the pain he endured.
“I think it’s important because if you mess around and you get sick, just because you feel fine, you could get somebody else sick that’s not capable of fighting off the virus and that can be fatal,” he said. “I think that’s something that people should be very wary about.”
Lillard said he was happy to see Little back with the team and getting a chance to play.
“He’s been through a lot,” Lillard said. “And then coming back this season and missing a lot of time, having to work his way back with his condition, and all those things, has been a tough few months for him.”
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress(Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress(Facebook).
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The Link LonkJanuary 09, 2021 at 12:35PM
https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/2021/01/portland-trail-blazers-nassir-little-sees-first-action-after-recovering-from-covid-19-it-got-pretty-bad.html
Portland Trail Blazers’ Nassir Little sees first action after recovering from COVID-19: ‘It got pretty bad’ - OregonLive
https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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