Greg Oden Has ‘Realistic Expectations’ For Return

Greg Oden practiced for the first time in four years last night but don’t expect him to rush to the court. The Miami Heat’s newest player says that he has “realistic expectations” about his future in the NBA.

It’s been a long road for Oden. He played his last NBA game in December 2009 and has just recently regained the ability to run. His knee is getting better every day but he still has a ways to go before he can play a competitive game.

Oden said: “I can run… The past three years, I haven’t been able to do that. … I’ve got a lot to prove to myself. I’ve been rehabbing for three years. … It’s been a long road.”

The Miami Heat signed Odom, who was the number one pick in 2007, to the league minimum this summer. He had his first practice last night and if everything goes to plan he’ll be play his first game this pre-season.

Oden said: “I’ve got to go through training camp and make sure my body holds up. If the knee holds up, I would hope they will let me play in the preseason… I think it’s realistic. Just going on how my body feels and how I feel, I think it’s realistic. It felt good just being out there. First time in a while, I’m happy I got it completed. They had to pull me off the floor. But I’ve got to take steps.”

Greg Oden is keeping his expectations low at the moment. He doesn’t expect to score 20 points or lead the league in blocks. In fact, Oden said that he would consider it a success if he can just walk off the court without an injury.

Oden said: “Marking success for me is walking onto a court and just walking off healthy… No matter if it is one minute or two minutes. My dream is to be able to play basketball, and if I can go out there and do it, run up and down, and come off the court again healthy, that’s goal one. Goal two is going into my second game and walking on and walking off.”