Knicks' Jennings: 'Feel like myself again' after long Achilles rehab

Brandon Jennings was playing some of the best basketball of his career before tearing his Achilles in January of 2014.

Through 41 games with the Detroit Pistons, he was scoring as efficiently as he ever has, and posting career bests in true shooting, free-throw rate, PER, and assist rate. He was riding a torrid 15-game stretch that saw him average 20 points and 7.2 assists while the Pistons went 12-3. And then he got railroaded.

A year and a half later, Jennings is on a one-year, $5-million deal with the New York Knicks, trying to rebuild his game, his confidence, and his market value before hitting free agency again next summer. His return last season - split between the Pistons and Orlando Magic - saw him average a career-low 6.9 points and 3.5 assists while shooting 36.8 percent from the field. His explosiveness looked sapped.

But Jennings - who admits he put on quite a bit of weight during the long Achilles rehab - says that after trimming back down, he's finally starting to feel like the player he was before his career year got cut short.

"I feel great. I feel faster. I hope I look faster," Jennings told reporters after Saturday's preseason with over the Brooklyn Nets. "I just feel like myself again."

Reveling in his return to health, Jennings played with the flare that defined him early in his career, busting out ostentatious wraparound dribbles and slick one-handed bounce passes.

"You can tell he's feeling good about himself," said Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony. "He's feeling healthy. He's got that joy about being back out there on the court."