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Phoenix Suns superstar forward Kevin Durant has a left ankle sprain and will miss at least a week, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
Durant, who recently returned from a calf injury that sidelined him for seven games, suffered this ankle injury in Tuesday night's NBA Cup game against the San Antonio Spurs. Late in the second quarter, Durant appeared to roll his ankle on the foot of Spurs guard Julian Champagnie while driving to the rim on a layup attempt.
After briefly staying in the game for his free throws and even hitting a jumper on a separate possession after the injury occurred, Durant checked out and went to the locker room. He did not emerge from the tunnel at halftime and was ruled out for the remainder of the game shortly after.
In a total of 13 games, Durant has averaged 25.8 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 53.6 percent from the floor and 44.9 percent from three-point range this season. He currently leads the Suns in scoring.
Suns' flaws without Kevin Durant
Before Durant's calf injury, the Suns began the 2024-25 season with an 8-1 record that saw them sitting at the top of the Western Conference standings. Without him on the floor, Phoenix went just 1-6 and saw their offensive efficiency drop dramatically. After picking up a 104-93 win over the Spurs on Tuesday, the Suns are 12-8 on the season.
When Durant has played this season, the Suns have posted an 11-2 record, proving to be one of the better teams in the West. Unfortunately, injury concerns have limited Durant's availability, as this new ankle injury could sideline him for longer than one week.
Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer spoke to reporters after Tuesday's game and was questioned about Durant's injury, to which he gave little updates.
“He stepped on someone's foot there in transition and I think at halftime stiffened up. We'll have to evaluate him again in the morning and see how he feels coming out of it. I don't really know a whole lot more than that,” Budenholzer said of Durant. “It's part of our league. We're not any different. There's not a team in the league that's not dealing with some in-and-out of the lineups and hopefully we teach and start to learn a way of playing that's good for everybody, regardless of who's healthy and who's not.
“Other people have opportunities to get more minutes, so we'll just see how Kevin is, and you've just got to keep playing.”
The Suns will play their next game on Thursday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, who have been decimated by injuries this season and have lost nine straight games.
