Kyrie Irving's return from his NBA Finals-altering injury appears to be going well.
The Cleveland Cavaliers guard has been cleared by doctors to start working out and put pressure on his left kneecap, which he fractured against Golden State in Game One of the NBA Finals.
He talked about how difficult it was to have to sit out, especially given the circumstances.
"It sucks when you're actually injured but it's a test of your will and patience and just continuing to stay involved in the game the best you can," Irving told Cleveland.com.
"That's what I tried to do. Be there for my teammates as much as possible, see them as much as possible, see our coaching staff as much as possible and stay in tune with everything that's going on."
Irving underwent surgery shortly after injuring his knee in the Finals' opening game, and has been projected to return during training camp at the end of September.
"I'm honestly not putting a date on anything," he said. "People are going to put a date regardless. I'm just continuing to be on the journey I've been on and that's continuing to get better every single day and rehabbing my leg."
As for the Finals, he says he "absolutely" thinks a healthy Cleveland team could have beaten Golden State.
"Being a confident basketball player and knowing what we had with our team, it was obviously tough, but I know all of us and the guys that are coming back, we haven't forgotten what happened," said.
"A great Warriors team won the Finals and all credit goes to them but our ultimate goal is still a championship, bring it to Cleveland."