Kevin Durant hurts left ankle in pregame, didn’t make Suns home debut
Kevin Durant was a late scratch for what would have been his Suns home debut Wednesday with a sprained left ankle after turning it on the court during his pregame workout at Footprint Center.
“He’s in a good mood,” Suns All-Star Devin Booker said. “That’s all that matters to me. The rehabilitation process begins now.”
Sources told The Republic that Durant was wearing shoes as he left the arena before being made available to the media after Phoenix’s 132-101 win over Oklahoma City. Durant could miss multiple games, sources told The Republic as Phoenix next plays Saturday against Sacramento (38-26) at home.
“The city has been waiting for this,” Booker, who scored 44 points in Wednesday’s win, said of the anticipation for Durant’s first Suns home game. “It’s a big day. We’re going to reschedule the party. I’m sure they’ll be back. The people who missed tonight, I tried to give them a little bit to make it better, but we’re still waiting for his debut here. “
Booker said he learned of Durant’s status right before the team took the field before the game.
That’s when Kevin Durant sprained his left ankle during his practice before tonight’s game.
He ended up getting scratched late tonight in what would have been his #Suns home debut.
Phoenix is playing OKC.
The team is listing him with “left ankle soreness.” pic.twitter.com/DWP1pQ3jWL
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 9, 2023
“I saw him still sitting on the (training) table,” Booker said. “It is what it is. Unfortunate event, but nothing serious. We’ll get it right.”
Chris Paul also spotted Durant on the training table.
“I didn’t know what was going on and I saw it on the table,” Paul said. “I know how much he loves to play and wants to play, but things happen.”
Durant was going through his usual pregame routine when he went to drive the baseline, twisted his left ankle as he slid down the court in the paint and lost the ball before collapsing on his back.
There was an immediate reaction to the drop from fans watching the situation.
The cleanup crew immediately cleared the area after Durant took off. The 13-time All-Star and two-time Finals MVP slowly got up, went to tie his left shoe, continued training and returned to the locker room.
He did not appear in pain or show any facial expressions of pain in the rest of his practice, but Durant did not play in the game.
“We just have to wait and see how he responds to the treatment,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “We’ll probably get a few more images just to make sure everyone’s on the same page.”
Phoenix’s next two games are Saturday against Sacramento and Monday at defending NBA champion Golden State.
Durant won back-to-back NBA titles (2017-18) with the Warriors.
“It’s tough, but you look around the league, even today, I think Luka (Doncic) came out today, Brandon Ingram,” Booker said as Doncic strained his left hamstring in the third quarter of the Mavericks-Pelicans game and didn’t did He returned as Ingram suffered a sprained right ankle and did not play in the second half.
“It’s just unfortunate, the things you can’t control, especially Kev’s. He was just going through practice before the game. Control what we can control. The situation happened.”
Booker recalls suffering an ankle injury while training over the summer.
“He goes full speed in every practice he does,” Booker said of Durant. “Things like that can happen. I thought he slipped at first, but watching the video, he turned (his left ankle).
Durant is averaging 26.7 points in his three games with the Suns (37-29), who have won all three. He is coming off a 37-point effort in Sunday’s win at Dallas, where he hit the game-winner with 12.4 seconds left.
With an injury history, Durant suffered a sprained right MCL on Jan. 8 in Miami. The Suns traded Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first-round picks and a draft pick to Brooklyn for TJ Warren and Durant right before the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
Durant nearly missed two months before making his Suns debut last week in Charlotte.
Do you have an opinion on the current state of the Sun? Contact Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or reach him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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