Milwaukee Bucks: Eric Bledsoe clears quarantine, returns to practice

Milwaukee Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe returned to practice for the first time since arriving in Orlando earlier this week after recovering from his COVID-19 diagnosis.

A little more than 36 hours after arriving in Orlando, starting Milwaukee Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe return to practice for the first time Friday afternoon.

A day after beating the San Antonio Spurs in a 21-point victory in the first of their three scrimmages. the Bucks returned to the practice court with their All-Defensive-caliber starting point guard in tow.

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Of course, that meant Bledsoe cleared quarantine after having arrived to Orlando Wednesday following his positive COVID-19 diagnosis, which had initially prevented him from joining the team ahead of the season restart.

That has now since been rectified and according to Bledsoe, Friday served as his first time touching a basketball since his diagnosis as he talked about with media during the afternoon, all while wearing a mask:

"“I got up and down the court,” Bledsoe said while wearing a mask throughout his video call session with reporters. “Just touching the basketball, getting a feel for it again, it was pretty fun.”"

In a clip shared through the Bucks’ social media team, Bledsoe discussed the experience of the last few weeks and how he managed to keep in touch with teammates through playing some Call of Duty: Warzone while they were in Orlando:

"“Pretty much the whole time, I was laid up. I really couldn’t do anything or obviously be around people…Call of Duty, man (laughs). I’m pretty sure I saw Donte and D.J. talk pretty much about that. I kind of stayed in touch with them through that and texting them to see how things were going and stuff like that. And they reached out, pretty much the whole team reached out to me, checking on me, pretty much every day.”"

And as Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweeted, Bledsoe thankfully didn’t experience any of the symptoms that have been associated with the virus, besides being laid up in his house for the last couple of weeks.

As was apparent watching Bledsoe’s session with reporters or clips shared through the Bucks’ social media, it’s great to see the 30-year-old in such high spirits, especially after what could have easily been a nerve-wracking episode if things had played out differently.

Having cleared quarantine and the protocols in place to the point where he could return to practice so quickly also served as a nice surprise as well, which will help Bledsoe eventually pick up back into game shape with the restarting of the Bucks’ season less than a week away.

As for when we’ll see the 10-year veteran in action, whether that’s in any of the srimmages that remain for the Bucks or against the Boston Celtics next Friday, that remains to be seen. Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer was quoted earlier this month that he was hopeful that Bledsoe would be available for their re-opener in light of Bledsoe making his diagnosis public.

With Bledsoe not just in Orlando, but returning to the court as he did for practice Friday, that makes that estimate look a little more possible.