Gordon Hayward on recovery: 'I'm basically at 100 percent'

Gordon Hayward is 'basically at 100 percent' just under a year after suffering a season-ending ankle injury in the Celtics opener. The All-Star forward held court at the Auerbach Center and reflected on his recovery process as well as the season that lies ahead.

"There's certain things that I think are going to take time even if I was 100 percent healthy," Hayward admitted. "I'm not 100 percent as far as basketball-wise, just because I haven't played in a year. I'm trying to figure those things out. The last step for me as far as from a physical standpoint is a little explosion, that little last juice, bounce that you get. So that's going to take me the longest time, but like I said, for the most part, I feel very good."

Hayward has been progressing in his recovery for the past several months after his initial ankle surgery and rehab and a second surgery to remove hardware from his ankle in May that had been causing discomfort. The forward has split his time between San Diego and Boston this summer, ultimately getting himself cleared for 5-on-5 work this month. He's taken part in four 5-on-5 sessions thus far.

"It's so much fun being able to play again, and play with my teammates," said Hayward. "Using these past two weeks, and the next month or so, will be good to kind of get back into the game, feel the rhythm, the timing, different things like that. But it feels pretty good."

The biggest hurdle for athletes after a traumatic injury can be regaining confidence in their body on the court from a mental standpoint, according to our BSJ medical expert Dr. Flynn. However, that hasn't been the case for the 28-year-old at this point of the recovery process.

"I haven't had any fear as far as cutting and jumping," Hayward said. "It's just working my way back into a groove, finding the different rhythms, the timings of the game. I played four times 5-on-5 after not playing for a year. That part is going to take some time and just figuring out those timings, those things over the years when you just play, it just comes naturally. When you take a long break like that, you have to kind of find it again. That's what I'm using this time for. Like I said, I'll use preseason and then I'll be rolling."

Hayward has also tried to avoid viewing any videos of the night he suffered the injury.

"I haven't watched it. Scrolling through Instagram -- you know how today's social media works -- I've seen it on my search feed a little bit, but I haven't watched the video," said Hayward. "I don't plan on watching the video. I'm moving forward -- and past it."

The Celtics kick off training camp a week from Tuesday at the Auerbach Center, holding just three days of work before the preseason opener on Friday September 28th at the Dean Dome against the Charlotte Hornets. After such a strong showing despite his absence last year in the East playoffs, Hayward is very eager to see how he fits into the mix.

"Watching the guys last year just gave me a lot of confidence in our team and what I think we have the ability to do," said Hayward. "I've been playing with some of them these last two weeks, and we have a lot of talent on this team. We have a lot of depth, and it's going to be a fun year."

A few other highlights from the presser:

On the challenge of the recovery process: "It was the most difficult thing I’ve done. I’ve been very blessed that I haven’t had an injury like this in my basketball career. And so to have to sit and watch and not be with the team and just do rehab every day was extremely difficult for me. I’ve told multiple people the hardest part of this whole process has been the mental challenge, having to just fight through not being able to play and do the tedious task of just the rehab and that whole process is something I don’t hope to have to go through again."

On the support he's received from friends and family: "The support has been unbelievable. Besides just my family, having teammates check in, having guys come over to the house. I can remember Aron Baynes—I’m a big doughnut guy. I like doughnuts. That’s like my cheat food—and I remember he brought Krispy Kremes back from a road trip and drove them to the house. Just simple things like that mean a lot to me. Means a lot to my family, too, that people care. And also the fans, too. They’ve been sending so much fan mail and trying to list up my spirits. Hell, some of them are going through the exact same journey of them being hurt. We’re kind of going through that together, and that’s been a really cool thing for me to see, how so many people get hurt and I was kind of working my way through it with them. So I think that was a cool way for me to connect with fans, and the coaching staff, too. I can’t say enough about the coaching staff and the other members of our staff that helped me throughout the year every single day. Like I said, getting in there at 6, 7 a.m. and not leaving until 2 in the afternoon doing tedious drills and pool sessions and going out to San Diego with me and sacrificing a lot for me. It’s amazing.