Kevin Durant Talks About Initially Thinking He Was Out for the Season: 'I Just Burst Out Crying'

Kevin Durant opens up about going through an "emotional roller coaster" for about half an hour when he thought he was out for the season.

Kevin Durant on the court during game.
USA Today Sports

Image via USA Today Sports/Bill Streicher

Kevin Durant on the court during game.

For about half an hour, Kevin Durant initially thought he fractured his tibia when Golden State Warriors teammate Zaza Pachulia landed awkwardly on his knee after getting tied up with Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat. On the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, Durant discussed what went through his mind when he was under the impression that he would miss the remainder of the 2016-17 season. 

"The first diagnosis we got was that I broke my leg, fractured my tibia. And that’s a four- [or] five-month recovery," Durant recalls. "I just burst out crying."

KD immediately started thinking about his previous injuries, like the Jones fracture he sustained in 2014, and the long journey just to get back to full health.

"And I’m like, 'Man, not again.' Know what I’m saying?," he said. "First of all, this is my first year with the team. We’re playing very well at the time. I was playing well individually. It was definitely a good time for our team, you know what I mean? And we were on an East Coast road trip, back home, playing in front of my family."

At the same time, Durant also thought about all the people who turned him into a villain and would actually relish in his injury. "And then on top of that, I knew that’s what everybody wanted to see, first of all," he admits. "Not everybody, but a lot of people."

After those 30 or so minutes, Durant received a phone call informing him that the injury was actually a Grade 2 MCL sprain and a tibial bone bruise, which meant he could return at some point this season. KD remembers the ordeal being an "emotional roller coaster," like "it was something out of a movie." With his comeback on the horizon, the ending hasn't been written just yet. 

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