Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton is expected to make his 2024-25 NBA regular season debut on Friday, against the Boston Celtics. Middleton missed the first 21 games as he recovered from the off-season surgeries he underwent for his ankles.
The journey of the three-time All-Star back to full health wasn’t easy. In an interview with ESPN’s Tim Bontemps on Friday, Middleton talked about what he went through to get back to 100%.
“I think this one was definitely the hardest for me, just because I had two surgeries,” Middleton said. “I was trying to be balanced on both feet, and not compensate for anything because that could lead to another issue. So I would say this was definitely the hardest thing to come back from, to just mentally, physically feel fine, feel fit, feel ready, feel confident in everything I have to do out there.”
The Bucks forward said he did his best to avoid a dark place, as recovering from such issues tend to be lonely for athletes. Middleton said he did his best to be with the team, despite not playing, and attended every game since the campaign started.
“Just not trying to get into a dark tunnel,” he continued. “Having as many surgeries as I have, coming back from this one, I wanted to make sure I was all the way ready to come back, be as fresh as I can mentally to be in a good spot because this is a long, grueling season. I’m going to go through a lot of things during the season, going to get hit, banged up, whatever, to have that mindset that I can still fight through and to keep going.”
Khris Middleton on him being medically cleared early in the season:
"I don’t know how that got out there really, but wasn’t too happy about it. People get medically cleared for stuff all the time, doesn’t mean you can go out there and play." pic.twitter.com/tNCWLrI3gH
— ْ (@fnsnfndns) December 6, 2024
Khris Middleton said he’s looking forward to his return, despite being nervous about it.
“That’s one of the things I’m nervous about, just to see how I feel when I get out there… but once I’m out there, I’ll be fine. If I’m going to shoot the ball over the rim, over the glass, whatever, just with the nerves and everything, adrenaline going. So I’m excited about it, see how it performs, see how it goes and just go from there.”
Khris Middleton drew a foul as he shot a 3-pointer in his first game back
Bucks fans have missed Khris Middleton’s presence on the court. In his first game back, he made it known to the Celtics that he’s still a problem on offense as he shot a 3-pointer from the corner. He drew a foul on Sam Hauser for the four-point play.
Watch the video of Middleton’s first play this season.
Khris Middleton with his first bucket since returning from double ankle surgery 🪣
(via @NBA)
— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) December 7, 2024
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
