Kevin Durant doubled down on his assertion that no person pressured him into returning to the NBA Finals prior to suffering a season-ending Achilles tear that put an end to his stint with the Golden State Warriors. The now-Brooklyn Nets star went on ESPN's First Take to clarify what transpired in June after coming back from a month-long calf strain injury into Game 5 against the Toronto Raptors.
“Not at all,” said Kevin Durant after being asked if he was pressured to return to the court. “Like I told somebody before — Rick Celebrini, it was him and I every day just working, building. It was more than just rehab with him and I, it was a tight relationship that I formed with him through that time. There was nobody else in my ear, none of my teammates said anything to me. I'm one of the best players on the team, I'm sure when we're losing in The Finals, I'm sure in the back of their minds they're wondering when I'm going to come back to play — but nobody said anything to me.”
Kevin Durant says there was no pressure from the Warriors front office or his teammates to return for the Finals. (via @FirstTake) pic.twitter.com/4xQa8PmFfz
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 31, 2019
Durant has put the rumor to bed several times already, but never described it as vividly as he did in this interview. The Warriors were somewhat murky in the description of his previous injury, first being described as a mild calf strain, but spanning much longer than the 7-10 day recovery timeline for an injury of that kind.
While they expected to get Durant back at some point during the Western Conference Finals, the sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers went by without any sign of progress for Durant, who missed the first four games of the NBA Finals, and played in only 12 minutes before suffering a season-ending Achilles tear.
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