Draymond back at Warriors practice for 1st time since January

Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green returned to practice on Saturday for the first time in nearly two months after rehabbing from a lower back injury.

Green was originally sidelined with a sore calf before further tests showed his soreness was linked to an issue in his back. He's missed 23 straight games with the ailment.

"My progress has been tremendous," Green told ESPN's Kendra Andrews, "I think, where I am today, if you knew where I was eight weeks ago or seven weeks ago, it's night and day."

The 31-year-old was limited to weight training activities for the first portion of his rehab before being cleared for individual drills.

With just 22 regular-season games remaining for the 43-17 Warriors, Green hopes to get back into his rhythm as soon as possible.

"Like I said, as soon as I feel like I'm whole and can get back out there and get my feet back under me before the playoffs, great," Green said. "If that's 15 games, fantastic. If it's 10, I'll make do. If it's five, then five is going to have to work."

Golden State welcomed Klay Thompson back to the lineup while Green was out, paving the way for the Warriors' core to be fully intact for the first time since the 2018-19 season.