Kevin Durant (ankle) injured during warmups, misses home Suns debut
Kevin Durant will have to wait for his home Suns debut after injuring his left ankle during Wednesday’s warmups.
Kevin Durant’s home debut with the Phoenix Suns will have to wait a little longer.
The 13-time All-Star slipped on the floor during pregame warmups and was ruled out Wednesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of left ankle soreness.
Per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic, Durant was in a walking boot as he left Wednesday’s 132-101 victory and could reportedly miss multiple games. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports Durant will have an MRI Thursday to determine the extent of the injury and how long he may be out.
“He’s in good spirits,” Suns All-Star guard Devin Booker said, per the Arizona Republic. “That’s all that matters to me. The rehab process starts now.”
The game was supposed to be Durant’s home debut with his new team. He has played in three games since being traded to the Suns, but all were on the road.
“We’ll get more testing done tomorrow,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “Right now, it’s just an ankle sprain and we don’t have anything official to report.”
Video showed Durant driving to the basket during warmups when he rolled his left ankle as he jumped. He immediately hopped up and continued his pregame work, but several minutes later, the Suns confirmed that Durant would miss the game.
Here’s video of Kevin Durant slipping on the floor pregame.
He stayed down for a few seconds but then got up and finished his on-court work. pic.twitter.com/DwTrNc6LIr
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) March 9, 2023
He was not on the bench during the game. Torrey Craig started in Durant’s place and the Suns rolled to a 132-101 victory for their fourth straight win. Booker scored 44 points.
Durant averaged 26.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in his three games with Phoenix. He wasn’t in the locker room when it was opened for postgame media access.
“I know how much he loves to play and wanted to play,” guard Chris Paul said. “But stuff happens.”
Phoenix traded for Durant and T.J. Warren in a blockbuster deal in February, sending Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first-round picks and other draft compensation to the Brooklyn Nets.
Devin Booker steps up after Kevin Durant goes down with an ankle injury, but his performance only further teases the Suns' future potential.
The Suns have looked like a juggernaut in the three games Durant has played, winning all of them. But the slip was a reminder that the 34-year-old has missed a lot of time with injuries over the past four seasons.
Durant was out the entire 2019-20 campaign because of an Achilles injury. He has missed time this season with a sprained knee ligament. Now, an ankle injury.
“He’s out there, working his tail off, getting ready for the game and twists his ankle,” Williams said. “You can’t get frustrated about that. It’s life, you know what I’m saying? I felt bad for him because he feels bad.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
