The entire NBA family was thrilled to welcome back the great Craig Sager, after spending nearly 11 months battling (and winning) against leukemia.
WATCH: Gregg Popovich, Russell Westbrook and others #WelcomeBackSager
https://t.co/96s5pCYbrW
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 6, 2015
Sager worked the sidelines during the Thunder-Bulls game Thursday night, and the Windy City showered him with plenty of love.
Happiest moment of my life too pic.twitter.com/IyY2XViqCR
— Craig Sager II (@CraigSagerJr) March 6, 2015
Sager says the illness picked the wrong guy to mess with.
Per the AJC:
Q: How excited are you about going back to work? […] A: “Mentally, I have been ready to get back to work since the fall and I was hoping to do the (NBA) All-Star Game. But the doctors didn’t think my immune system was ready and I still needed to stay away from people and crowds. The doctors now say I am ready to go and I feel good and I am going full blast.”
Q: How difficult has the recovery been? […] A: “The way I look at it is sort of like those Rob Lowe (DirecTV) commercials. I looked like the scrawny Rob Lowe. I lost 50 pounds and they get you down to a point where you basically have no immune system so you have the best chance of not rejecting the transplant. But (in September) there was this one weekend where I had this breakthrough physically. I didn’t need the walker and told my wife Stacy, ‘I think I’m going to make it.’ But I haven’t beaten leukemia because it takes three years before you know you are out of the woods.”
Q: After going through all this, has your outlook on life changed? […] A: “What has hit me is to see the support and the love and attention I have received. It has been so encouraging hearing the things that people have said about me. Usually, that happens at your funeral. I think what has helped as much as anything is to hear people say that leukemia picked the wrong person to fool with.”