Kyrie Irving has bounced around middle-school and college gyms over the past 2 ¹/₂ months, trying to stay in shape and undoubtedly being the first pick of pickup ball.

The team that left its unvaccinated star behind kept its distance but also kept in touch. Irving was a part of group chats and stayed virtually close with his Nets teammates as they ascended atop the Eastern Conference standings without him. There did not seem to be a resolution possible between the exes until what kept them apart — Irving’s unwillingness to be vaccinated — took a backseat to coronavirus cases wreaking havoc on the team’s active roster.

“It was multiple times where I was like, ‘Damn, when the hell is Kyrie playing?’ ” said DeAndre’ Bembry, Irving’s longtime pal.

On Wednesday, Irving played.

The Nets welcomed back half a superstar, one who only will play road games because he has signaled no willingness to be jabbed and New York City will not allow him to play at Barclays Center (or Madison Square Garden). It was a light practice in Brooklyn and a significant one for Irving, who had been banished Oct. 12.

In his first public comments since rejoining the team, Irving sounded excited, rather than resigned, to be a part-time player.

“I knew the consequences. I wasn’t prepared for them, by no stretch of the imagination,” said Irving, who could play in as many as 22 regular-season games (provided a postponed one in Portland is rescheduled). “Coming into the season, I had my thought process of being able to be a full-time teammate and just go out and have fun and provide a great brand of basketball out there. But unfortunately, it didn’t happen like that.

“Things happen for a reason, and now we’re here and I’m just grateful for this.”

The Nets are choosing any players who can help — and the seven-time All-Star can — over any semblance of cohesion, feeling continuity might be impossible anyway because of the strain COVID-19 has put upon the team.

Irving could have requested a trade to a city that lacks New York’s mandate and been able to suit up for the first 30-plus games. He said playing with Brooklyn — alongside Kevin Durant and James Harden — always has been the goal, even if that meant he could not physically play at Barclays Center.

“[The Nets] said, ‘We want you back,’ and I said, ‘Absolutely. This is always where I wanted to be,’ ” said Irving, who had not spoken to the media in three months, since his face appeared over Zoom on Sept. 27’s media day. “I wanted to be playing with the team in whatever capacity I can do that.”

Without Irving, the Nets might have had a championship roster anyway. With Irving, even half the time, they immediately become title favorites. Irving said he, Durant and Harden “wanted to strike while the iron was hot.”

“With us getting together at this time in our careers, we wanted to take advantage of it,” said Irving, who will turn 30 in March. “We have a lot more left in the tank, but obviously our age between us three, us being at a certain level of mastery in this game, is only going to last for a certain amount of time.”

The earliest he can debut this season is Jan. 5 in Indiana, though he will have to get his body ready first — and the fact he just exited the COVID-19 protocols will not help his conditioning.

After watching Irving’s first practice back, Steve Nash said he looks “great considering he just came out of protocols and hasn’t played basketball.”

Irving said he understood the Nets’ initial decision to bar him from the team, choosing continuity over the potential chaos of essentially fielding two different teams — one at home, one on the road. He hoped cases would “calm down” and lead to a change of the city’s mandate that prohibits unvaccinated individuals from entering indoor arenas.

Ironically, it was an outbreak — 10 Nets players were in the health and safety protocols last week, including Durant and Harden — that led to the team accepting any help it could find.

The holdout worked, and the Nets relented. It is unclear if Irving ever will cave in his vaccine stance, but perhaps the Nets hope giving him a taste of basketball can remind him about the whole meal.

“When I thought about it last night, I could barely sleep. I’m like, man, I just don’t want to come out and not be who I know I am to be as a player,” said Irving, who said the team has welcomed him back with open arms. “Just getting up and down, my heart racing and being nervous and touching the basketball again.

“Just the rhythm of the game, I missed it.”