Kevin Durant Got Emotional When Discussing Kyrie Irving's Season-Ending Knee Injury

"I feel for my boy," Durant said after the Suns beat the Clippers.
Irving and Durant teamed up in Brooklyn together earlier this decade
Irving and Durant teamed up in Brooklyn together earlier this decade / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The news of Kyrie Irving's torn ACL has reverberated around the NBA and the general response from fellow players indicates how well-liked Irving is around the league. This includes Kevin Durant's comments on the matter; he grew emotional as he gave them following the Phoenix Suns' 119-117 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.

"I feel for my boy," Durant said of Irving, his former teammate in Brooklyn. "I know how much he cares about the game and loves the game, loves his routine, enjoys playing for his teammates. He's an awesome teammate. The best teammate."

Durant had to pause before continuing, clearly getting emotional discussing Irving's setback.

"Man. He loves the game so much, I'm just hurt for him. But he's such a strong-minded person he's going to bounce back and probably be even better than he was before he got hurt. Prayers up to him and wish him a speedy recovery."

Durant and Irving teamed up in Brooklyn together beginning in 2019. They played alongside one another until Irving was traded to the Mavericks and Durant to the Suns ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.

Clearly their friendship remains strong.


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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.