NBA teams
Mike Mazzeo, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Mirza Teletovic: 'I'm pretty lucky'

NBA, Brooklyn Nets

NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets forward Mirza Teletovic, who will not play again this season after being diagnosed with multiple blood clots in his lungs in late January, told reporters Monday the clots are gone, he feels great and he hopes to return in six months.

Teletovic said the doctors have an 80 percent belief the clots originated as a result of the hip pointer he suffered in Cleveland in mid-December. The clot then traveled to his calf and lungs. He wasn't capable of breathing properly for "like 20 days" or so, he said.

Teletovic experienced shortness of breath in Los Angeles during the Nets' Jan. 22 game against the Los Angeles Clippers and was taken from the Staples Center to a local hospital in an ambulance. A battery of tests, including a CT scan, revealed the clots. The Nets announced the following day that he would miss the remainder of the season.

"He could have gotten on the plane, and he could have actually died," coach Lionel Hollins said at the time. "The good thing is [team trainer] Tim [Walsh] went with him, Tim made him do a CT scan, and they found out about it."

Teletovic started working out three weeks ago. He said the only thing he can't do at this point is participate in contact activity.

"It just feels unbelievable to be 100 percent breathing," Teletovic said in his first comments since the incident. "I've gone through a lot in my life, but I've always considered myself a fighter. I'm pretty lucky."

Teletovic offered some words of encouragement for Miami Heat center Chris Bosh, who had his season cut short recently due to the same diagnosis in February.

"I want to tell him that he doesn't have to worry," Teletovic said. "He's going to get better and start working out pretty soon."

Teletovic, who has been on blood thinners, has been told by doctors that everything should be fine. He has undergone several tests and has no family history of blood clots or remaining clots at this point.

Teletovic also was told frequent air travel and no time off likely contributed to the clots' development. He said he had begun to feel dizzy and frequently tired before finding out what was wrong with him.

Teletovic will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season but hopes to stay with the Nets, citing his love for the organization.

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