Kevin Durant's Recent Comments Should Strike a Chord with Brooklyn Nets Fans

Kevin Durant played the second-most regular-season minutes in the NBA last season.

Sep 22, 2026; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) is interviewed during media day at Hilton Americas hotel. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kevin Durant played the second-most regular-season minutes in the NBA last season, an incredible accomplishment at 37 years old.

Naturally, the conversation is going to shift towards managing his minutes to keep him fresh for most of the regular season and playoffs, but if you were to ask Durant himself, he'd simply ask why.

“It’s been the same message for me for a long time, man,” Durant said. “Like, I’m better on the court. The team is better when I’m on the court. Now, if we handle our business the first three quarters or earlier in the game, then maybe, but just for the sake of getting my minutes [down] just because he’s older or he’s played a lot of minutes, like, that’s what I’m supposed to be training for: to play the long haul. Play 48 minutes a night. I get the concern, but if the game needs me to be out there, I want to be out there.”

Durant has demonstrated time and time again that he prioritizes being out there on the floor, no matter what the circumstances are.

He gave it a go in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals despite dealing with a right calf strain, lasting nearly 12 minutes on the floor before rupturing his Achilles.

Durant still got paid handsomely by the Brooklyn Nets, but had it not been for his elite talent, that decision could've very well cost him a full max salary.

Still, it was apparent that Durant valued keeping the Golden State Warriors' chances of winning a third straight championship alive more than his own desires.

Durant was ultimately unable to suit up at any point in the first year of his contract with the Nets, but in the following season, he literally did everything he could to give Brooklyn a chance to win it all despite losing Kyrie Irving to a severe ankle sprain and navigating James Harden's Grade 2 hamstring strain.

Durant went off for a 49-point triple-double in Game 5 to give the Nets a 3-2 series lead against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals and erupted for 46 points in Game 7, playing every second of each game.

Unfortunately, Durant's big toe in Game 7 robbed the Nets of a chance to advance further, but had it not been for KD's dedication, the Nets wouldn't have hung in there until the very end against the eventual champs.