The Brisbane Bullets have been caught in their woes for the whole season now. Their rookie head coach relies on a braintrust to get the job done and the majority of their roster has missed time due to injuries. Their original import trio — which I thought to be one of the strongest in the league — has been beset by their own miseries: Javon Freeman-Liberty was released so he could rehabilitate from an injury at home, Jaylen Adams was released after an underwhelming output and Casey Prather was ruled out for the season due to injury.

Maybe the Bullets’ fortunes are due for a reversal after Freeman-Liberty completed a move remarkably rare in sports; he came back to the team that released him. Six weeks after Freeman-Liberty was released, he is back with the Bullets. It is a move that is matched in being unprecedented by being completely unexpected.

Freeman-Liberty had only appeared in two games for the Bullets when he was almost mysteriously removed from the line-up as documented in my previous article. Those two games saw him average 19 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5 assists. He then went home to rehabilitate from a hamstring injury but the real cure was apparently for his homesickness of which he has suffered from in his previous international stint. It was a major loss for the Bullets and for the league in general because Freeman-Liberty was easily one of the premier additions this season. The lack of his presence was felt amongst the absence of almost all the presences on the Bullets; the team had a 1–1 record during his two appearances and has since limped to a 5–10 record overall.

I had predicted that Freeman-Liberty’s Chicago loyalty would see him back with the Windy City Bulls in the NBA G League. Instead, his player rights were traded to the Osceola Magic. That was to be the only transaction involving him during his six weeks away from the Bullets.

Then came the announcement nobody expected. Freeman-Liberty was to rejoin the Bullets. Their press release makes no mention of that troublesome hamstring; instead, it focuses on Freeman-Liberty undergoing the prioritisation of his mental health and wellbeing. The Bullets stayed in touch with him during that process and he had recently begun reaching out to his teammates. It seemingly reignited a desire to come back and finish what he had started.

The decision speaks to his competitive spirit as there is no way he would have felt like he was missing out on the chaos of the Bullets’ season. Instead, Freeman-Liberty has decided to burden some responsibility for helping them get through this and has made the incredible commitment to return. It is a great moment for the Bullets to have him back. Congratulations to Freeman-Liberty as well for persevering with his mental health and being strong enough to return.