Injured in the ankle warming up before the game against Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant, who was to play his first game in Phoenix, could be out between four to six weeks, according to the Arizona press.
He was looking forward to playing his first home game with the Suns, it’s missed! Winner in Charlotte, Chicago and Dallas for his debut with Phoenix since arriving from Brooklyn, Kevin Durant was hoping to start at the Footprint Center against Oklahoma City on Wednesday. But during the warm-up, the 34-year-old superstar twisted his left ankle when he slipped under the basket.
Kevin Durant will take exams this Thursday, but according to the local newspaper Arizona Republicthe first news is not very good. “The Suns franchise is concerned that Durant has a Grade 2 sprain, which would require a four to six week absence.” We will know more in the coming hours, but there is therefore a real fear that the two-time NBA champion (with Golden State) and thirteen-time All Star will not finish the regular season with Phoenix. A regular season that will end on April 9, in just one month, with the reception of the Clippers.
Here’s video of Kevin Durant slipping on the floor pregame.
He stayed down for a few seconds but then got up and finished his on-court work. pic.twitter.com/DwTrNc6LIr
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) March 9, 2023
Durant continues the injuries…
It would be a real blow for the Arizona franchise, which had won its three games since the arrival of the star, who shot 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists average during these three meetings. The Suns can certainly count on an excellent Devin Booker, author of 44 points against Oklahoma City on Wednesday, but in the fight for second place with Memphis and Sacramento (Denver, first with nine wins ahead of Phoenix, seems too far away), the presence of Kevin Durant would not have been a luxury.
And if it’s six weeks away, he could even miss the first two playoff games (against Golden State if the season ended today). It is in any case a new big injury (except good surprise during the exams passed this Thursday) for KD, who has already missed twenty games in January-February with Brooklyn due to knee injury, after having already missed 21 the last season for the same reason, and another 23 the previous season after an adductor injury, not to mention his white season in 2019-20 after his Achilles tendon rupture.
