On Saturday, March 15, Kristaps Porzingis made his return to the Boston Celtics roster. The veteran big man had missed the previous eight games due to a mystery illness. However, he showed very little signs of rust once he was out on the hardwood, scoring his first bucket within a minute of the opening tip.

After the game, Porzingis told the media that the illness had been the worst he’d ever experienced. The 7-foot sharpshooter admitted that fatigue had played a significant role in his prolonged absence, as he struggled to get his fitness back to a sustainable level. “I haven’t been this sick for probably ever in my life,” Porziņgis said. “So I was really, for a week, really just laying at home trying to recover. And after that, I had lingering fatigue, and I still have it a bit, but at least I’m now getting into shape to be able to play. But after each workout, I was boom, big crash. I was really, really fatigued. Like, not normal. So, yeah, it’s taking a bit longer, but I’m doing everything, all my biohacking stuff that I know, and just trying to get back in the best shape possible.”

Shortly after the Celtics secured a 115-113 win over the Brooklyn Nets, Jack Simone and Sam LaFrance shared their thoughts on Porzingis’ return via their ‘How ‘Bout Them Celtics?’ YouTube channel. The two analysts broke down Porzingis’ importance to the roster and how he looked on his first game back after multiple weeks on the sidelines.

You can watch the full episode by clicking on the embedded video above.