Warriors forward Kevin Durant suffered a right Achilles tendon injury during Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday.
What We Know:
- Durant was near the 3-point line during the second quarter when he dribbled the ball between his legs and went to drive the ball past Raptors forward, Serge Ibaka. His leg appeared to give, which made him lose the ball. He then gripped the lower part of his calf while on the ground. He underwent an MRI on Tuesday, according to ESPN.
- Before this injury, Durant had not played since he injured his calf during a game against the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals. Bob Myers, general manager of the Golden State Warriors, defended the decision to let KD play in Game 5. “That was a collaborative decision. I don’t believe there’s anybody to blame… If you have to, you can blame me. I run our basketball operations department,” said Myers.
- Durant confirmed that he ruptured his Achilles in an Instagram post. “I did rupture my Achilles. Surgery was today and it was a success, EASY MONEY,” Durant said in the post. As of right now, it seems that there is no one to hold responsible for Durant’s injury.
- Warriors won 106-105 against the Toronto Raptors in Game 5. However, the Raptors won their first championship (4-2) thanks to their victory in Game 6. Many basketball aficionados are wondering if this would have been the outcome if KD had not been injured.
Durant was expected to be a free agent this summer, but he might have to consider staying with the Warriors if he will be on the sideline for an extended amount of time.
Drake got emotional as he watched Kevin Durant leave the court with an Achilles injury. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/6DvWkvYy6p
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 11, 2019
