And all this, of course, came after what would have been his rookie season was lost to microfracture surgery in the summer of 2007, the first of three such procedures he's needed to deal with cartilage problems. No one realized that the following 3½ seasons would be lost as well. His 2009-10 season ended that night when he broke his left kneecap. You talk about taking the air out of an arena - everyone knew what that meant." You look over and see him on the floor, grabbing his knee. Not again.' I can promise you that's the same thought that 19,000 in the Rose Garden and both teams had. "You just knew his voice, and my first thought was, 'Oh, man. "I heard him scream and you knew right away," Battier said. Replays suggest that Battier probably couldn't see Oden in that fateful moment, but his ears told him what was happening. Shane Battier was actually in the game at Portland on that night 49 months ago when Oden - whose knee problems were already being labeled chronic before that day - went down in a heap after trying to contest a shot against the Houston Rockets. "He can help us," four-time NBA MVP LeBron James said. A few feet away, his teammates jumped off the Miami bench in unison, celebrating wildly for a few seconds.įor a moment, it didn't seem to matter that the Heat were actually trailing by 30 points. 1 overall draft pick rebounded Dwyane Wade's miss inside, gathered himself and threw down a dunk, the ball ricocheting off his leg after it dropped through the net. He checked in midway through the second quarter on Wednesday, and on Miami's first possession with Oden on the floor the former No.
Greg Oden dunks in his return to NBA action. Much as was the case when Oden last played on Dec. "It happened," the 7-foot Oden said afterward, all smiles. He was explosive at times, winded at others, jumped on a stationary bike at halftime to avoid stiffening up and clearly isn't ready for a major role in the Heat game plan. And on Wednesday night, Oden finally got to offer proof.Įxactly 1,502 days - four-plus years - removed from his most recent regular-season appearance, Oden made his return with a six-point, eight-minute outing in Miami's 114-97 loss to the Washington Wizards.
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