In his first sit down interview since injuring his knee Feb. 28 against the Wizards, Kevin Durant revealed what the hours were like after he fell on the court in Washington.
On Bill Simmons’ podcast, Durant said doctors initially told him he had suffered a broken leg and would be out for the season.
“The first diagnosis we got was that I broke my leg, fractured my tibia.” Durant said. “And that’s a four or five month recovery. That’s what he told me: 4-5 months. I just bust out crying. I’m like: not again…This is my first year with the team, we’re playing very well at the time. I was playing well individually. It was definitely a good time for our team.
“We checked the scans again, we got a CT scan to see the condition the bone was in and they told me it was just a bruise there and I sprained my MCL, And that reaction in the car was like second to none. That emotional roller coaster was something out of a movie.”
Imagining the Warriors winning a championship with Durant on the bench is borderline heartbreaking. KD came to Oakland for two reasons: To have more fun playing basketball and to win a championship. He clouded his entire reputation with basketball fans by making this decision.
As Durant said on the podcast, the Warriors dodged a bullet — but more so Durant. Before he was injured he was without question Golden State’s top performer this season, averaging career-highs in rebounds (8.2), blocks (1.6) and field goal percentage (53.7). If the Warriors can continue to play basketball like they have on this nine-game winning streak, and seamlessly add Durant back to the fold, you can start planning a parade for late June.
In the meantime, the Bay Area can take a collective sigh of relief. Because this could’ve been devastating.
“I heard a crack and it was something that I never felt before, I never heard before. So I was a little nervous. Like a crunch. I tried to run it off, like I do everything. But I knew I was out of it when I lost all my focus of everything. I was out of it. I left my man open for 3. My mind was nowhere near a basketball game.
“Whenever I’m back, I’m back. I don’t know. Hopefully I feel good. I’ll be back when my knee gets better.”