Kevin Durant made his long-awaited return to a basketball court in a pre-season game against the Washington Wizards. It was a glorious return. KD was showing shades of his old self in a 24-minute outing where he notched 15-points. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but mightily impressive, considering the injury he is returning from.

NBA Analyst Skip Bayless was seemingly amazed by the strength at which KD has returned. He praised the former Golden State Warrior for his athletic ability and his willingness to stay on the court.

“I saw bounce, spring in his step I did not think I would see, I even saw a little trampoline effect. We saw a guy who looked like he was Kevin Durant again, right away. I was a little surprised to the point that I saw him play 24 minutes. I looked at their schedule and realized, a week from tomorrow night, they play. It’s Warriors at Nets.”

Kevin Durant: Back at 100%?

The most chatter around KD in the last year and a half has surrounded how good he will be in his return. Will he be the former MVP, or will he just be a shade of it? From the looks of it, KD intends on being an MVP candidate once again. However, there are obvious physical limitations- one of them being that no player has ever fully recovered from an Achilles tear.

But KD doesn’t need to be a player with explosive athletic ability. He is a cerebral player who can shoot from anywhere on the court. He needs the ball in his spot, and he can do all the damage he needs to do. He was even getting blocks against the Wizards.

KD’s performance dispelled the doubts around how this injury will affect him. While he will have a few hard nights here and there, hopefully, his body holds up to this NBA season and he can have a triumphant return on the court. It will make this season that much more interesting.