Kevin Durant slipped and took a scary fall while warming up for his first Suns home game, and the All-NBA star could miss a significant amount of time.
The 34-year-old forward was ruled out of Phoenix’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a left ankle injury. Devin Booker led the Suns to a 132-101 victory, but the concern was over the severity of Durant’s injury.
There reportedly is concern within the organization Durant has a Grade 2 ankle sprain, according to Greg Moore of the Arizona Republic. This would mean the 13-time All-Star would miss four-to-six weeks, which would rule him out for the remainder of the regular season — that ends April 9 — and the start of the NBA playoffs.
This obviously is a huge blow not only for Durant, who only has played three games with Phoenix since being traded from the Brooklyn Nets, but also the Suns’ championship hopes.
Phoenix is fourth in the Western Conference after its win Wednesday, and with Ja Morant missing time with the Grizzlies, there’s a good chance the Suns can keep homecourt in the first round with either the No. 4 or No. 3 seed, which Memphis holds, as of Thursday.
It means Durant doesn’t have to be rushed back, but the lack of playing time with his new teammates would be something to monitor in the playoffs, as well as the star’s recovery from his injury.
Durant continues to play at a high level, but after his knee injury last season and his ankle injury he suffered Wednesday, there’s added concern over how many MVP-caliber years he has left in his career.
