Monday night marked the return of three players who were absent for a long time, the NBA preseason served to see in action again Kawhi Leonard, Jamal Murray and Ben Simmons, men who are expected to be key for their teams in the campaign that is about to start.
This is how it went back to these three NBA figures.
Kawhi Leonard
It took 476 days to see Kawhi back with the Clipperswho was injured during the second round of the 2021 playoffs against the Jazz, a torn ligament in his right knee caused him to miss the entire season. Leonard played just 15 minutes in the Clippers-Blazers game in Seattle, finishing with 11 points and 5 rebounds.
jamal murray
The Nuggets celebrate the return of one of their stars, Jamal Murray returned to the courts after more than 500 days of absence. Murray tore his ACL in April 2021, missing the playoffs that season and all of last season. Finally, on Tuesday, October 3, he was able to play with Denver again and Although they fell to the Thunder, Jamal left a good feeling with 10 points in his first 15 minutes.
Ben Simmons
With the Nets there was the controversial return of Ben Simmons. After leaving behind a complicated process in the mental part and that dispute with the Sixers, Simmons appeared as a starter with the Nets precisely against Philadelphia. Steve Nash decided to use it for 19 minutes in which he contributed 6 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Simmons hadn’t played since Game 7 when the Hawks eliminated the Sixers in the 2021 playoffs.
Other returns
In the game between Clippers and Blazers, there were also two other important comebacks. Damian Lillard returned after missing 47 games with Portland last season and we were also able to see John Wall who did not play last season.
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Leonard, Murray and Simmons, expected returns in the NBA | long live basketball