Greg Oden made a surprising debut for the Miami Heat on Wednesday night and showed how far he has come in his long-term recovery from chronic knee issues.

Oden checked into the second quarter of the Heat's preseason game in New Orleans, the first time he had played in an NBA game since Dec. 5, 2009, a span of more than 1,400 days.

Miami's Greg Oden was back on the floor Wednesday night, his first action in more than 1,400 days. Derick E. Hingle/USA TODAY Sports

On his first possession, the Heat ran a post-up play for Oden, who turned and dunked the ball. He played an eventful 80 seconds of game time in the first half, picking up the basket, two rebounds, a turnover and a foul.

He ended up playing four minutes total in the Heat's 108-95 win against the Pelicans.

"It's been a long time," Oden said. "It's been a long road for me, just to get that off my back, my first step tonight. I'm happy I'm able to walk off this court and I'm able to play another day."

Teammate LeBron James was happy to see him back on the court.

"It was a very special moment," he said. "I have no idea what my feeling would be like, being away from the game for three years. It was like a proud moment, man. I was so excited for him when he got on the court and he checked in -- and his first basket he gets a dunk. Can you write it any better? Obviously he's not where he wants to be, but the process is going great.

"I can just imagine how excited he was to get back out there. I'm going to have to take a toast for him, man. I ain't no drinker, but I might have to take a shot for him. It was an absolutely great moment."