E.J. Liddell’s rookie season in the NBA was over before it began.
Nineteen days after perhaps the best moment of his basketball career, Liddell experienced what was likely the worst. Liddell heard his name called with the 41st overall pick of the NBA draft on June 23, 2022, fulfilling a lifelong dream as he readied for the start of his next chapter with the New Orleans Pelicans. By the third quarter of a Summer League game on July 12, though, any hopes of hitting the ground running were halted in their tracks.
With an Atlanta Hawks defender on his back as he jostled to get open for a high-post touch, Liddell’s right knee gave out. A subsequent MRI confirmed an ACL tear, and the former Buckeye star was ruled out indefinitely. There would be no surprisingly fast turnaround, either, as Liddell was sidelined for the entirety of his first year of professional basketball.
Now, nearly a year to the day of the incident, Liddell returns to action Friday in a Summer League matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves at 4:30 p.m. in Las Vegas – his first live game appearance since last year’s unfortunate twist of fate.
“I’m blessed, man, just how far I’ve came,” Liddell told reporters at Pelicans’ practice this week. “Like, last month I wasn’t able to play five-on-five, but now I can. It’s just awesome to be out there, awesome to play with some of these guys who have been playing for a minute and just to get back on the court. It’s about to be a year now since the last time I played. There’s a little nerves, but I’m excited.
“I feel good, physically. I just gotta get my game conditioning back. Up and down is nothing you can prepare for on the bike or just the treadmill or anything.”
For many, suffering a major setback right on the cusp of beginning the professional career they’ve always dreamed of might serve as a major mental hurdle. Not for Liddell. The two-time first-team All-Big Ten performer said he never truly questioned his ability to come back as strong as ever and quickly set aside any self-pity on the road to recovery.
“I didn’t learn anything, honestly. I always knew I could overcome adversity. Life is tough,” Liddell said. “You always ask the question, ‘Why? Why’d it happen to me?’ But why not me? This is just another experience. I’m not the first person to get injured and I’m not the last person to get injured.”
Liddell also had teammates to lean on throughout the process, and hearing successful comeback stories from those in his own locker room only made things easier as he built his way back to full health. Liddell embraced his downtime by acclimating to the NBA with one degree of separation, soaking up as much knowledge as possible before he’d be ready to get on the court.
“(Pelicans guard) CJ McCollum has (helped me) because he told me a story about how he broke his foot before his rookie year and he broke it in college and whatnot and how he went through mental things,” Liddell said. “Also (Pelicans guard) Kira Lewis, he just got done doing rehab, just got back on the court this past year. So it was good to have guys like that to talk to me and just say it’s a learning curve, some days you feel good, some days you don’t.
“Obviously, I wanted to be out on the court. But it was a really good opportunity to learn. Learn from the guys who’s playing my position, just see guys on the opposite team, being in the locker room for scouting reports and just knowing what all it takes to prepare yourself for such a long season.”
“(I expect to feel) a lot of nerves. If you see me smiling, (it’s) a lot of nerves. But just know I’m super excited to be back out there."– E.J. Liddell on returning to the court
But as confident as Liddell was that he’d get to this point, he’ll still have to adjust to making the same movements on his repaired knee that he routinely made pre-injury in a live game setting. Luckily for Liddell, the Summer League is a low-stakes stage on which to test out and build up his comfortability before the NBA season begins in earnest.
“It’s different, I gotta build that confidence back up. Like going in the lane, playing in traffic and whatnot,” Liddell said. “That’s normal when you come off an injury. Those are just learning curves. If I do something once, I feel comfortable doing it again. That’s been my whole rehab process.”
The Pelicans organization gave Liddell a vote of confidence Thursday when they signed the versatile forward to a three-year, $6.2 million deal. Liddell previously signed a two-way contract with the franchise in October, but without playing a single game since then, it appears New Orleans has seen enough behind the scenes to reward him.
As far as the tools that could allow Liddell to carve out a real role once the season begins, he mentioned his shooting ability and defensive prowess. Liddell said "all I’ve been doing” while recovering over the last year was practicing his spot-up jump shot from the corner, something he said he rarely worked on in college. And on either side of the ball, Liddell feels like he can play anything from small forward to center.
Still, Liddell doesn’t expect to look like a finished product in his first Summer League action this week.
“Being able to shoot the ball at a high clip, and also guarding (are my strong suits). I feel like if I can guard, I can be on the court,” Liddell said. “In Vegas, I don’t know if I’m gonna show my full arsenal yet, because I’m just now getting back on the court, just now getting back in game shape. So I’m gonna still be ramping up, still be feeling my way through it. But I’m gonna do what I can.”
For an NBA draftee fresh off of inking a new contract, Liddell may have more nerves than the average player entering a Summer League contest. But assuming all goes well in his return, Liddell can get back to business as usual and put the past year behind him.
“(I expect to feel) a lot of nerves. If you see me smiling, (it’s) a lot of nerves,” Liddell said. “But just know I’m super excited to be back out there, be able to be in front of the lights again. So I’m excited.”
