Wizards' center Etan Thomas says the process of recovering from open-heart surgery is almost complete.

"It started with just walking," said Thomas. "Just getting up and taking a little walk around this little track they had at the hospital. I'd walk around maybe twice and I'd be exhausted for the day. Not tired. Exhausted. Wiped out. There would be older people out there doing the walking too, and they were whizzing by me. I was like: 'Man, I'm doing bad.' "

Thomas missed all of last season after undergoing surgery last October to replace a leak in his aortic valve.

Almost one year later, Thomas took the court for the Wizards for the start of training camp. He was seen running at full speed and bumping bodies with teammate Brendan Haywood.

"I felt good, real good," Thomas said. "It was just fun to get back out there and play again. Everything's going great so far."