Caris LeVert was a full participant at Brooklyn Nets practice for the first time on Monday, marking a step forward in his rehab from foot surgery.

“It felt really good,” said LeVert, who was picked 20th overall in the draft and traded to the Nets. “It’s been a long time since I’ve practiced full go and competed in live drills, so it was a great experience for me.”

How long? LeVert last played on Feb. 13, 2016, had surgery in March and has been in various stages of rehab since, so testing his wind running up and down the floor was really a breath of fresh air.

Coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t offer a timetable for LeVert’s return, but said it was good to see the Michigan guard back on the court.

“Good to see him out there. He’ll be practicing regularly and we’ll build him up,” Atkinson said. “We’re just trying to build him up so he has the best chance at long-term success. It’s that simple… It’s a plan. He had a good practice today and we’ll keep working on that.”

LeVert knows there’s still some time to go before his NBA debut, but he feels like things are starting to come together for him.

“I think my [shooting] form held up, but as far as going into the drills, my legs weren’t into it, but today it felt great,” LeVert said. “My wind is back and my legs felt good in the drills, so it’s felt good so far.”

LeVert credited the Nets coaches and performance team for keeping his conditioning up and allowing him to seamlessly get back to full practice speed.

“All the work I put in this summer, all the extra conditioning, it really paid off,” LeVert said. “The performance staff really did a great job of building up the other parts of my leg as well. The surgery held up, so I felt really good right now.”

While not participating in practice, LeVert has spent the summer and fall around the Nets coaches and players and feels like he’s absorbed an understanding of the offense.

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“A couple out-of-bounds plays I need to get more reps with, but as far as the offensive system, I think I’m pretty good with that,” LeVert said. “I watch a lot of film and the system is pretty similar to Michigan’s system, just with the spacing and everything.”

Atkinson said he’ll need some more practice time to determine how he’ll want to use the 6-foot-7 swingman.

“I want to see him in practice, to see us start scrimmage and slowly get minutes, then we can define who he is,” Atkinson said. “In the draft it was wing defender, 3-point shooter, kind of a 3-and-D guy.”

LeVert said he’s fine with doing whatever the team needs. For now, it’s still focusing on building up his strength, but Monday was a good step forward.