Deandre Ayton played his first NBA game after sitting out the past 25 games due to a league-imposed PED suspension. The second-year Phoenix Suns center took a diuretic that was banned by the NBA, but he has no room to repent now that his team needs him to pick up the slack 27 games into the season.

Ayton vows he'll learn from his big mistake:

“It's frustrating and I know what I did, and it was the biggest mistake and unintentional mistake that happened in my life,” Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, said of his time away from playing, according to ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk. “It was something to learn from and build from it. It's a mistake, and everybody makes mistakes. It's just how you bounce back, really. I think that is what everybody is waiting for. I did my time, so I'm here.”

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Ayton has been itching to play, and it showed, as he poured in 18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and a block in the Suns' 120-99 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, playing in only 24 minutes as he gets back his endurance after missing six weeks with the suspension.

Ayton gave himself a self-assessment:

“How'd I feel? At first I felt like this court is like a soccer field,” said Ayton, who tweaked his ankle during the game but said he is fine. “Then I started to get my second wind. … Then I felt a little normal when I got subbed out. Came back in and was back in a rhythm and found my groove a little bit.”

Whether Ayton knew what he was putting in his body or not can likely be an enigma that could never be solved. But Ayton looks more than willing to make up for lost time and contribute for this team, as he intended before the start of the 2019-20 season.