Kevin Durant Provides Update On His Injury Rehab: 'Definitely Getting Better Each Day'
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BROOKLYN, NY - For the first time since suffering an MCL sprain in his right knee on Jan. 8, Kevin Durant spoke with reporters after the Nets practice on Tuesday afternoon.
"Definitely getting better each day," Durant said on Tuesday afternoon at HSS Training Center in Industry City. "Just rehabbing, grinding, trying to get back out there as fast as possible."
The team is 'very pleased' with Durant's recovery thus far. Outside of continuing to strengthen his knee, he has been cleared to begin running and on-court basketball activities. He will be reassessed in another two weeks. Overall, it's an expected medical update that Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn is pleased with.
"Great to get that two weeks kind of assessment. Sounds like everything's headed in the right direction and really encouraged from the report from the doctor," Vaughn stated. "So we'll see what that looks like two weeks from now."
The on-court basketball activities Durant has been cleared for do not involve a basketball. In his words, 'I don't want to tease myself like that.' He did not get into specifics on the 'small things.'
"No I don't want to tease myself like that," Durant said with a smile. "It's tough not being able to go full speed so I just do the small things first and then once I'm able to get back on the court and do some things and that's when I'll lock in on that."
In his media availability, Durant revisited suffering the injury. This is the third time the 34-year-old has suffered the injury in his NBA career. The other two came in 2017 and 2022. So when Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler landed awkwardly on his right leg, Durant knew immediately that he would be missing some time.
"Yeah, I felt pretty much, I knew that I would be missing some time after he fell on my leg," said Durant. "I have been through that three times and pretty much every time I was in no man's land not guarding my man or not even in a help position so I attribute all of that to basically not being locked in on that moment and somebody used the space that they felt like they had and just fell into that space. I knew exactly what happened as soon as I did it so I was just thinking about the recovery after that."
What does an MCL sprain feel like? Here's how Durant describes it ...
"It's weird. It feels like a scar. It feels like you got cut. It's like a sharp pain. It's a dull pain," he said. "It's one of those things where after a few days the pain goes away, and then it's about the range of motion and function of your knee and not being able to be on the court, that sets you back a little bit. So just trying to rest it and make sure that ligament is healed, and once I get back on the court hopefully things pick up a little faster as far as recovery and feeling better."
Now a little over two weeks since going down with the injury, Durant has seen the video of the play. Of course, the way he suffered the injury was unfortunate. When he revisited the play, thoughts on how he could've avoided the injury came to his mind.
"I stepped late. I watched all those plays where I got injured like that. That play, I think Seth [Curry] had guarded Jimmy [Butler] in the post, and I should have just doubled, instead of emptying out of the paint slowly," Durant broke down. "As I was emptying out, I was just standing there watching. I wasn't even guarding my man. I wasn't even hitting nobody, so I should have ran and doubled and got Seth off of Jimmy there, and maybe that wouldn't have happened."
All in all, Durant wasn't feeling sorry for himself after suffering the MCL sprain - an injury that will sideline him for at least a month in total.
Out of everything he has or will be sidelined for in the near future, it's the fact that the injury restricts him from playing against competition Durant had marked on his calendar: Playing against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center, competing against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, and possibly missing a second consecutive NBA All-Star Game.
“Yeah, but I wasn’t feeling sorry for myself like ‘Why me?' I was just like sh*t, another year of not playing against my old teammates. Another year of maybe missing the All-Star game and not playing against LeBron James at home. Stuff like that that I look forward to," he said. "On top of playing every game, I just look forward to it. On top of just playing every game and not playing against LeBron James at home. Stuff like that I look forward to. On top of just playing every game, I just look forward to that stuff. But it’s part of basketball as well.
"Like I said, I could have put myself in a better position and not gotten injured. It’s my third time. Feeling great and a freak injury happens like this. I got to put myself in a better position on the floor to avoid stuff like that. It wasn’t a feeling of woe as me or why me. It is what it is.”
The Nets superstar forward will not take the bus ride down the New Jersey Turnpike to Philadelphia for the Wednesday night matchup. Instead, he will remain in Brooklyn working on his rehab.
"No. I just think it's better for me to stay here with all the equipment we got here," Durant said. "I've been in a nice routine the past couple of weeks, so I don't want to break that just for a day. The guys understand I'll be back with them soon. Even if I'm not playing, I think in a couple of weeks I'll be good enough to move around. But for now, I want to stay close to the facility with all of the equipment we have."
