Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey returned to action on Saturday, making his first regular-season appearance since a January injury. The 23-year-old came off the bench in a matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks after 10 months sidelined. The Pistons, holding a strong 13-2 record, welcomed back the fourth-year player to their rotation.
Jaden Ivey's journey back to the court began with a fibula fracture suffered against the Orlando Magic on January 1. He later underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on October 16 to address discomfort. Excluding a short preseason appearance, Ivey had been out for 10 months prior to this debut.
In the game at Milwaukee, Ivey entered as a reserve, with Duncan Robinson starting in the backcourt alongside Cade Cunningham. Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff expressed enthusiasm about Ivey's return during pregame comments. “All of his teammates are excited,” Bickerstaff said. “He’s excited, obviously. Just the journey that he’s been on to get to this point. It’s been a struggle, it’s frustrating, it’s emotional, it’s all those things. But you watch the way that he approached the work, and he put himself in position to come back even stronger than when he left. Obviously, those things will take some time for him to just get comfortable, (for) his load to increase, minutes to increase in all those things. But his teammates, him and us as coaches, couldn’t be more excited for a guy who deserves it.”
Ivey appeared upbeat at the team's shootaround at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Last season, in 30 games, he posted career-best averages of 17.6 points on 46 percent shooting and 40.9 percent from three-point range, along with 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Bickerstaff has maintained ongoing dialogue with Ivey throughout his recovery, emphasizing his value to the team. “We just had conversations all the time,” the coach noted. “The conversations don’t stop and start when guys are available to play. The conversations are (continuing) through this whole process and letting (Ivey) know his value to us, and letting him know his worth to us. And then, no matter what the outside noise is, he’s just got to be himself. And he’s proven that when he’s himself, that’s good enough. So, you know, go out, play freely, don’t overthink it. Just have fun at the end of the day. Embrace your teammates, embrace the competition, but don’t overthink what you need to do. Because his best is good enough.”
The Pistons, performing well at 13-2, anticipate Ivey gradually increasing his minutes as he rebuilds comfort on the floor.