The day before Edmond Sumner’s wedding, he was in the gym, working out and rehabbing his torn Achilles tendon.
The day before flying to Bora Bora for his South Pacific honeymoon? He was back again, putting in that sweat equity in an Indiana gym.
The Nets ended their sorry 2021-22 season vowing to get back to their gritty identity and work ethic, and one thing is crystal clear: Their new guard fits the bill.
“Ed is just the most pro’s pro you’re going to meet, in the sense that he doesn’t miss days. This guy trains,” Sumner’s trainer, Mike Robertson, told The Post. “Literally, this guy trained the Thursday before his wedding. He got married on a Friday, came in Sunday before he left for his honeymoon.
“He just doesn’t miss days, he doesn’t skip workouts. That’s a testament to who he is and the kind of guy that you’re getting there. He’s just a great human being. He’s going to punch the clock, he’s going to continue to not just work hard for himself but to lift the others up around him. And he’s just a world-class human being. [Nets fans] are going to love him.”
For Sumner, it’s just about making sure those Nets fans get a chance to love him. He was waived shortly after being acquired by the Nets in an October trade with the Pacers, and he had not suited up for Brooklyn. He rejoined the team on a two-year $4.2 million free-agent contract in July. But of his $1.9 million salary this season, only $250,000 is guaranteed and just $500,000 on Opening Night. The second year is non-guaranteed.
On a roster rife with injury concerns, Sumner is one. Sumner, T.J. Warren, Ben Simmons, Joe Harris and Seth Curry are all coming off surgeries, and the first three did not play a second in the 2021-22 season.
Sumner has spent the past year recovering from a torn left Achilles suffered working out — naturally — in September 2021, a week before camp. After seeing how Kevin Durant recovered from his own ruptured Achilles, Sumner picked Dr. Martin O’Malley — also the Nets’ foot specialist — to do his surgery.
“I see how Kevin came back from his injury and came to being one of the best players in the world,” Sumner said on the “Voice of the Nets” podcast. “I was like, ‘Who did his surgery? I need to go to that person!’ I need this done right.”
Even done right, the road back was arduous. His rehab moved from being split between the Pacers and Robertson to almost entirely with Robertson, the co-owner of IFast — which has also trained Glenn Robinson III, Sean McDermott and Kelan Martin.
By February, Sumner was dunking again. And in June, despite not being able to go 5-on-5 — his strength as an open-court player — he had enough explosion to impress the Nets in a workout. And that explosion didn’t come easily.
Summer not only underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy (breathing pure oxygen in a chamber with the air pressure increased two or even threefold), but also did quadruple the usual amount of sessions.
“The standard protocol is five times a week for two weeks,” Robertson told The Post. “That dude, he did 40 sessions over the next eight weeks … to expedite the healing process and get that Achilles healed faster. … He just knew exactly how to attack the process.”
Unfortunately for Sumner, he’s an experienced rehabber. He’d already dealt with tendinitis, a torn ACL and shoulder surgeries, the main reason he has logged just 108 NBA games in five years.
Sumner’s best season proved to be his last healthy one, when he averaged 7.5 points in 53 games, both career-highs, in 2020-21. He’s confident of getting back to his open court best, however the Nets opt to use him or with whatever lineups.
“It doesn’t matter who’s going to be around Ed. He’s going to find a way to fit in and produce and help the team be a little bit better,” Robertson said. “So I think [fans] are going to love him.
“He’s going to be right where he needs to be. … He’s back into 5-on-5 now, getting up and down the court. The last stage now is getting used to playing regularly, getting his legs underneath him. … I’m confident he’s going to be back and looking very good come the start of the year.”