LAS VEGAS – Alex Toohey could not move his left leg, but his hands were dexterous enough to flip through thousands of pages while he remained bedridden, and his active mind craved a distraction from a monotonous recovery process that would stretch on for months.
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Toohey was bedridden for six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee in December.
So the Warriors’ former second-round pick cracked open book after book.
“The Kite Runner” and its sequel “A Thousand Splendid Suns” were two of his favorites. Aldous Huxley’s masterpiece “Brave New World” was also one of his favorites.
“I want to read all the books that people have heard of,” Toohey told the Bay Area News Group last week. “I feel like there are a lot of books that I’d be like, ‘Oh, I’ve heard of that, but I haven’t got to reading it.’ So obviously there are a lot of books out there in the world, but I’ve got a lot of time, so I’m gonna slowly chip away at them.”
Eight months out from operation, the 22-year-old Toohey does not have quite as much time to devour classic literature as he did back during the drab winter months.
Wearing a white Warriors T-shirt, blue gym shorts and bright orange sneakers at Friday’s practice at the sparkling Las Vegas Basketball Center in the northern part of town, he went through individual defensive drills and dribbling practice as the rest of the Warriors scrimmaged on another court.
Toohey has been around the team since the start of the California Classic at Chase Center on July 3, and even if he is unable to play, his energy and sunny disposition has been noticed by the coaching staff.
Summer league coach Khalid Robinson noted that having a group to lean on during rehab can only be a positive during what is often a lonely process.
“Rehab is a very isolating existence at times because you come in day after day after day, and you’re doing a lot of repetitive things,” Robinson said. “It’s great to have him with the team here. Alex has been in film sessions, and he asks me and our staff questions. He’s a good teammate, and he has a very uplifting presence about him.”
Robinson emphasized the importance of being part of a group by making note that many of Toohey’s exercises and drills are done with multiple staffers, rather than having him work solo several courts away from the rest of the group.
Further lifting Toohey’s spirits is his former high school roommate Lachlan Olbrich. His fellow Australian Institute of Sport alum is now fighting for a spot on the Warriors and has a front-row seat to Toohey’s rehab.
“I love Toohey,” Olbrich said. “Always good to have familiar faces around.”
Coming out of their native Australia, Toohey was a highly touted international prospect who, at 6-foot-8, could do a little bit of everything.
But Toohey also traced his knee injury back to the pre-draft process, when NBA teams were trying to figure out if his game would translate from Australia’s National Basketball League to the NBA level.
He worked out for 17 teams before the draft, which involved constant flights and strenuous physical activity with little time left for recovery or rest.
By the time Toohey suited up for the Warriors last July as the No. 52 pick in the draft, he was already bothered by an aching left knee that left him feeling as if he only had one usable left leg during the 2025 summer league.
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He missed all of the preseason and gutted out two games for Santa Cruz’s G League team before he decided to get surgery and the Warriors released Toohey.
It is a decision Toohey does not regret.
“I just didn’t feel like myself and didn’t play like myself,” Toohey said. “I’d rather try and fix it and come back healthy than try and play with it at like 60 or 70 percent.”
Recovery from surgery can take anywhere from nine months to a year, and now seven months out, Toohey can see a return to scrimmages and games coming ever closer into view.
“I’m not quite doing live stuff yet,” Toohey said. “But I think the plan is to ramp it up pretty quickly from here on out. So the days go a lot quicker. A lot quicker when I can do some on-court activity than when I was just doing upper body and just sitting in the weight room all day.”
Having split his rehab between his native Australia and the States, Toohey remained in touch with his Warriors teammates and the team’s medical staff, even if their ability to help him was limited after the Warriors waived him in December.
“I kind of mixed it up, and I’m the kind of guy that likes to change the scenery,” Toohey said. “So wherever I am, I just try and put my head down and work on my knee. But I’ve had a great supporting cast around me, getting me back to 100 percent.”
Toohey’s return to Golden State for summer league was an easy decision for both parties.
Regardless of where he was in the world, Toohey cheered for the Warriors, relishing in their successes. He also sympathized with their pains, such as when Moses Moody and Jimmy Butler went down with severe knee injuries.
Now that Toohey is back around the Warriors, he has had a chance to commiserate with Moody.
“I got to kind of speak to (Moses) about the injury, and then I’m sure when I see Jimmy next time, we’ll be able to speak about that recovery,” Toohey said.
Toohey remains optimistic about his chances of returning to his pre-injury form, and estimates that he will be able to participate in full-contact drills and practices by the start of the NBA season in October.
However, even with the Warriors’ lack of healthy wings outside of Yaxel Lendeborg, a full-strength Toohey is no lock to make the Warriors roster.
When asked about his future in pro basketball, Toohey opted to remain optimistic but also open-minded about the next chapter of his career.
“I’ve just got to keep my head down and take it one day at a time,” Toohey said. “Has been pretty much been the mantra for this whole thing. There are good days, there are bad days, but wherever I am, just kind of keep my options open and just be a learner.”
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