MAITLAND, Fla. - On the same day where Yao Ming's professional future is in doubt as the Houston Rockets were granted an injury exception that likely means he'll have surgery and miss the 2009-10 season, reasons to have faith that his career isn't over was visible in an Oklahoma City Thunder uniform.

Shaun Livingston, victim of the nastiest knee injuries ever suffered on a basketball court, was starting at the relatively alien position of small forward for an NBA squad that intends to give him every opportunity to prove his resiliency hasn't been in vain. By this point, you know the story of his temporary demise, a devastating injury suffered with the L.A. Clippers on snapping his left leg laterally, dislocating his knee cap and damaging every one of his cruciate ligaments.

Livingston said Wednesday that he refuses to watch any replays of the injury until at least after his career is over, which given his progression, looks to be longer than anyone once thought possible. On Wednesday, in the Thunder's 98-86 win over the Boston Celtics at the Orlando Pro Summer League, Livingston continued his unexpected return by showing some real nice lift and an ever-improving range of motion. The No. 4 pick of the 2004 draft knifed into the paint, finished despite contact, battled for boards and stayed in front of the players he was checking defensively.

If Livingston can make it back from an injury so gruesome it makes every one who sees a replay of it cringe, it's possible for Yao to rally back from a career-threatening foot injury that sounds equally nauseating.

Considering that the league has been busy with reaction to a few blockbuster trades, the beginning of free agency signings, the reduction of the salary cap and summer league play, it might be easy to dismiss this expected Yao news as something of a given, a casualty of breaking down because you're 7-foot-6.

Considering how Yao went out in the Western Conference semis against the Lakers, leaving the court in such apparent anguish for yet another time, it seems almost easy to write him off.

His body is too brittle for its massive proportions, some believe. Others will tell you he's not tough enough for the rehab ahead. Busting your foot up the way Yao did, as ESPN's Stephania Bell demonstrated in that video above, is something normal human beings don't come back from.

Sounds familiar. Ask Livingston what he thinks of naysayers who doubt the strength of a competitive human spirit.

No longer the teenage point guard prodigy whose size and passing skills drew him comparisons to Magic Johnson, Livingston, who turns 24 on Sept. 11, is busy trying to find a niche with the Thunder, no matter where they want to play him.

He still considers himself a lead guard, but understands that he can find minutes on the floor at either wing spot, playing off of Russell Westbrook.

"It allows coaches to experiment," Livingston said of his versatility. "I'm not necessarily a better scoring guard than I am a playmaker, but I feel I have the ability to create mismatches by having two point guards on the floor. His (Westbrook's) athleticism is undeniable and he creates mismatches as well. I feel like I can be a beneficiary of it and by helping him improve. I think we can complement each other well."

Livingston says he's 90-95 percent back to where he feels he can be, needing only to work on his explosiveness and getting his wind back as the final step in his recovery. He's ecstatic about the new brace trainer Joe Sharpe and the Thunder staff have outfitted him with, saying it's much more comfortable compression for the knee, keeping it secure.

"It's night and day from what I had to wear last season, a brace from my thigh to my mid-calf. It was made out of fiberglass, basically like metal," said Livingston, who won't play any back-to-backs in Orlando or next week in Las Vegas. "It was restrictive, but it was very secure. For an injury like mine, coming back, it was the best thing since first, you're coming back mentally."

Yao will deal with the same obstacles. He'll have bad days and worse days, but if he's the type of competitor unwilling to let his body betray him, another run awaits. Remember, this is a man who emerged as the most popular individual in the world's most populous country. He's got a fighting spirit.

Livingston was signed by Oklahoma City in March after a failed stint in Miami, getting into eight games late in the season. At that point, he was still fighting constant battles to see what he could and couldn't do, not to mention stressing the prospect of never fully making it back. He turned the corner in the last game of the regular season, finishing on the receiving end of an alley oop. He says that's the last time he's been surprised with what he's able to do.

"I'm done with that," Livingston said. "This is a passion of mine. I felt like I was so young at the time (of the injury), being 21, there's some people that aren't even in the league at 21, so I feel like I still have a window open."

Oklahoma City does, too, counting him as a major find it hopes pays dividends.

Houston knows the type of man Yao is, pinning all its hopes on his development for the better part of this decade. The Rockets won't give up on him now, nor should they.

The odds have been beaten before, again and again.

Tony Mejia is senior writer for Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at mejia@probasketballnews.com.