Back on February 19th, 2015, Kevin Durant left a Oklahoma City Thunder v.s. Dallas Mavericks game due to an injury to his surgically repaired foot. The injury was so severe, Kevin Durant was sidelined for the rest of the 2015 NBA season. He was ruled out for 4-6 months. Now that we are in July, Kevin Durant is back but limited on the court. Royce Young of ESPN.com reported,
Durant said his rehab is entering “Phase 3,” with him on the floor taking jump shots but not running and cutting yet. He said everything is on track and that he expects to be fully cleared sometime in August.
Kevin Durant missed 16 games throughout his first six NBA seasons. Last season, he missed 55 games. Durant is eager to get back on the court and expressed his eagerness in an interview with Young at a Thunder Summer League game.
“We’re doing X-rays every two weeks, and it’s looking good,” he said. “So I’m excited to get back, man. There’s no pain, and looking forward to getting back.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder need to make sure his rehab process moves along as smooth as possible. Foot injuries are tough to work with. Other NBA players like Joel Embiid had a setback in recovery from foot surgery and he could be out for all of next season. The Oklahoma City Thunder missed the 2015 NBA Playoffs as the nine seed in the Western Conference. With Durant in the lineup, the Thunder went 18-9 but without Durant, the Thunder went 27-28. Durant averaged a hefty 25.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game per ESPN.com.
Kevin Durant is entering the 2015-2016 NBA season in a contract season. He will be expecting a massive contract in or out of Oklahoma City with the rising salary cap in the NBA. Durant needs to prove to the NBA his foot won’t lead to future problems. For this last month, Durant will need to be careful to ensure his foot is 100% for the 2015-2016 NBA season.
