Oklahoma City's Darius Bazley elaborates on shoulder injury

After being out for over a month, forward Darius Bazley said following the Thunder's 117-93 loss to the Sixers on Saturday that he suffered a fractured scapula

Darius Bazley is officially back.

The 20-year-old lit up the stat sheet Saturday night, scoring a blazing 17 points, nabbing nine rebounds and dishing out five assists in the 117-93 loss.

Steal and score‼️@BazleyDarius | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/LqFBpHIkLg

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 11, 2021

But the story lies less in the return than it does the absence.

After being sidelined for over a month with what was advertised as a shoulder contusion, Bazley explained after the game that he actually suffered a more serious ailment. 

"I had fractured my scapula,” Bazley said after the game. "The rehab was just treatment, trying to get strength back in the shoulder. Working on movement, trying to get tolerance of pain — That’s all it was, everyday.”

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The scapular injury is more serious than was originally conveyed for Bazley.

Former 1st overall pick Markelle Fultz' career was delayed due to scapular related injuries. Former star teammate Chris Paul also dealt with injury once in his storied career.

However serious the injury, Bazley looked fine Saturday night. While he was a little more turnover prone than usual, the second-year paced the Oklahoma City offense.

After a strong bubble performance last season, Bazley is looking to end the season strong after a bit of an underwhelming start offensively.

He's currently averaging 11.9 points and 7.5 rebounds in 36 games.

Bazley will look to build on his hot start back against the Jazz on Tuesday, April 13 at 8 p.m.