The Orlando Magic had a welcome face on their bench for Tuesday's game against the Atlanta Hawks.
As players returned to the court after halftime, they each dapped up Jalen Suggs, making his first appearance on the bench since undergoing knee surgery in March. The team said they appreciated and could feel the energy Suggs' mere presence provided. It was clear how happy they were to see their sparkplug back on the bench and around the team.
Suggs was tucked at the end of the bench closest to the Magic's locker room and behind the bench, lest some stray player accidentally bump into his knee. It was nearly the same place Moe Wagner sat when he returned to the bench.
Suggs is moving around fine, but with some still noticeable deliberation. He said he is still on track to return before training camp begins in September. Still, Suggs is feeling the weight of the decision to take care of his surgery now and miss out on a second trip to the playoffs.
For a supreme competitor like Suggs, slowing down when the team is so close to this time of year has been the biggest challenge.
"I think the other biggest thing is I am missing the playoffs, especially coming off the series last year where I was so much looking forward to all summer getting back to this point of the year," Suggs said before Wednesday's game. "Being this time is when I have to sit out has been pretty challenging. This is a challenge I have to take on. I can't do anything else about it. I'm trying to learn all I can from my current position and take each day as it is."
That has been a constant theme throughout the latter part of the season. Even with the Magic failing to meet their preseaosn goals and expectations, players have been eager and excited to return to the Playoffs, even going through the Play-In.
That motivated Cole Anthony to return from his toe strain. It is a constant talking point for the Magic's best players, too.
Suggs was also eager for a return to the postseason. That possibility was taken away when he had to opt for surgery and add another surgery on top of it.
Down this road before
Jalen Suggs has had to slow down before. His first two seasons were beset with injuries, including a wrist injury and an ankle injury that required surgery after his rookie year.
Last year was his breakthrough as he played 75 games and averaged 12.6 points per game. With health, he became a menace on defense, being named to the All-Defensive second team. He shot 39.7 percent from three, making up for one of his biggest weaknesses.
He was on track to have a career season this year, averaging 16.2 points per game. With all the injuries elsewhere on the Magic's roster, his efficiency and shooting decreased as he took more shots off the dribble and had to create more.
But Suggs ended the season playing a career-low 35 games. He suffered a low back strain on Jan. 3 and played only one more game the rest of the season, returning for the Orlando Magic's Jan. 25 win over the Detroit Pistons when he injured his knee in the fourth quarter and left the game.
According to Suggs, he was preparing to return and clearing the final hurdles to return after the All-Star break in February when he felt pain in his knee and was shut down for the season.
Suggs underwent an arthroscopic surgery and opted to get a mosaicplasty to clean up any lingering issues with torn cartilage in his knee. He said before Wednesday's game that this surgery would become necessary in the offseason even if he had a chance to return before the end of the season. With the shape his knee was in, this kind of surgery was going to become inevitable.
That decision meant he would miss the rest of the season.
This was a tough decision to move forward with the surgery, but it was the right one long-term for him and the team.
"It wasn't easy. It was a tough realization," Suggs said before Wednesday's game. "That first week and a half just accepting the reality that this is where I was at and this is where I was going to be for the next six months. It's hard because it's not one of those things where the end goal is close and you can see it and see the light. You have to take it one day at a time and put out short goals and short checkpoints and reach those until time quickly passes and you look back and see how far you've come."
The addition of the mosaicplasty, a procedure where doctors take cartilage from other parts of the knee and weave it together to replace the damaged or torn part, added an extra element to the surgery. It was not an arthroscopic surgery, a relatively simple and common knee procedure.
That will account for the longer time in Suggs' recovery. But six months would still have him fully cleared by September, well before training camp. Suggs still expects to be ready for training camp.
The Magic clearly looked at fixing a long-term issue with Suggs. But now comes the long road for recovery. That is always a tough road. While Suggs is walking on his own and does not appear to have any permanent brace or padding, it does not appear he is doing anything active quite yet.
The most active he has probably been was his cheering at the NCAA Tournament when he attended several TCU games to support his friend Hailey Van Lith.
It is still a daily process in his recovery even if things are still moving slowly. Suggs is back but he does no t have that bounce in his step as he stays patient waiting to recover fully.
"I've been good. Day by day, progress is slow," Suggs said before Wednesday's game. "It's one of those things you can't speed up. I'm taking each day as it comes physically and mentally. Trying to be fully present with it. I'm feeling good. I'm in a good space."
The Magic have had a lot of that frustration. Many players have not had the seasons they hoped for. It has felt like there have been a lot of missed opportunities and chances left on the plate. Injuries will do that.
Suggs will have to sit out the Playoffs this year. He is doing so with the hopes of being part of future playoff runs.