Tristan Thompson Says He Had 'All the Symptoms' of COVID-19 : It 'Was No Joke'

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Tristan Thompson returned to the court this week after spending nearly a month recovering from COVID-19 symptoms.

The 30-year-old Boston Celtics player rejoined his team on Wednesday for their game against the New York Knicks. Thompson had been out of the lineup for 24 days after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

"When I had COVID, I had a bit of all the symptoms," Thompson told reporters, according to MassLive.

"I wasn't one of the lucky ones to have no symptoms," he added. "I was in a 12-round battle with that joker. But I won. I'm here now."

While many people who contract COVID-19 have reported a loss of taste and smell, Thompson said he didn't experience those symptoms. But considering everything else he went through, he plans to receive a COVID-19 vaccine when available to him.

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"I can enjoy my food but that s--- was no joke," he told reporters. "So, definitely going to get the vaccine when I'm eligible to get it."

As of Friday morning, more than 31 million people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in the United States, according to a New York Times database. Of those, 559,575 have died.

More than 175 million vaccines have been administered in the country so far, the Centers for Disease Control says.

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Citing two studies, the Times said it's still recommended that people who've previously had COVID-19 receive a vaccination.

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With Thompson playing 22 minutes on Wednesday night, the Celtics held off the Knicks 101-99. They now sit on a .500 record at 26-26, which is the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference.

"Tristan, he just added to the fight, to the physicality," teammate Jaylen Brown said of Thompson's importance to the franchise. "We knew today was going to be a fight. We knew they were physical and we didn't want to lose the fight. We had to win the fight tonight and Tristan led us in that department."