It had been 372 days since Portland Trail Blazers forward Rodney Hood last played in an NBA game.

Dec. 6, 2019.

On that day, Hood’s season ended when he suffered an Achilles tendon tear against the Los Angeles Lakers at Moda Center.

Sunday night, Hood returned to the scene of his most devastating injury for the first time since that painful evening. The event was a mere preseason game against Sacramento. Portland lost, 121-106. Not a big deal. What mattered most to Hood, and to the team, was that he was back playing NBA basketball. His only regret was that fans were not present to welcome him home.

“I think it would have been a lot more special if they were here,” Hood said following the game.

Hood played 12 minutes, scored just two points on 1-of-4 shooting but added four assists, two rebounds and a blocked shot.

Nothing spectacular, but certainly a start. His lone basket came on a turnaround, fadeaway jump shot. Other shots got away from him. Playing in the NBA usually requires some adjustments following such a long layoff.

“The first couple of minutes was a little fast for me,” Hood said. “Had to get the pace down a little bit. There was a couple of shots I wish I could have gotten back. Hesitating. But after the first few minutes, it felt good to get up and down. It’s the first scrimmage-like thing that I’ve done. It’s been a year, so I just can’t be too hard on myself. But it was good to get out there today.”

Portland coach Terry Stotts offered no evaluation of Hood’s performance beyond saying he enjoyed having him back on the floor.

“It’s been a year and he’s been through a long process, so I was just glad to see him out there,” Stotts said.

Hood, a starter before the injury, this season will backup both Derrick Jones Jr. at small forward and CJ McCollum at shooting guard.

“I’m going to be used everywhere around the court,” Hood said. “It’s going to be fluid.”

An Achilles injury is one of the toughest to recover from for an NBA player. But Hood said he does not worry much about his Achilles while playing.

“I feel good,” he said. “I’m not really hesitant about it.”

Hood was on the Blazers team that went to the Western Conference Finals in 2019. He said he hopes to be a part of a similar run this season.

“We feel like we’re right there,” he said. “I think we do a good job of not worrying about the other teams in the league and what’s going on and all the chatter. But we play with a chip on our shoulder. We’re kind of always the underdog coming into the season…Hopefully we stay healthy this year.”

After workouts, Hood said his Achilles can become sore. But nothing worrisome. He’s working through the soreness he experiences in other parts of his body while adapting following such a long layoff.

“That’s been more of the focus after practice,” Hood said. “But the (Achilles) has been feeling fine.”

Hood has one more practice to get ready for Denver on Wednesday when he could receive more minutes as he continues his comeback.