The 14-time All-Star played in 75 games this season, the most since his time with the Warriors. The journey to be able to do so reveals an unrelenting burn within: to return to the player he once was -- and more.
) is a senior writer for ESPN Digital and Print, focusing on the NBA. He has covered the Lakers, the Celtics and previously worked for The Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times.
Inside the room, the doctor squeezed Durant's right calf -- nothing moved. The doctor looked around at other specialists, at nearby Warriors officials who looked on. The room fell silent. Doubt soon crept in.," Durant recalled thinking. Even if he came back, maybe he'd only average 15 points a game, maybe a few more -- maybe.The 2023-24 regular season is complete, and the postseason is underway. We have everything you need to follow along for another epic title chase.
"There are very few who love the game as much as KD," Suns general manager James Jones told ESPN."You don't play this long and that well unless you love it. You can't fake that fire."Back inside the increasingly quiet Target Center, Durant continued to reflect. After all, Achilles tears have long cleaved professional sporting careers -- from what a player was, to what the injury reduced them to, the gap often hauntingly wide.
"It was incredible," Barr said."From day one, he was just ultimately focused and determined to get back.""I don't want to say I was depressed, because depression is its own thing, but whatever is under depression," Durant said."There was something mentally that was going on. That's a dark place. We all think we're these god-like beings. I couldn't tell the future. I didn't know what the f--- was next.
"He had already done everything," Barr said. A multiple-time NBA scoring champion. An NBA MVP. A two-time NBA champion. A two-time Finals MVP. A six-time All-NBA first-team member. Countless NBA All-Star appearances. Multiple Olympic gold medals. "I had no other choice but to go back to work. I wasn't going to go back and be like, 'Mom, Dad, Bro, Sis, Godfather -- all my whole family that has been trusting in me and believing in me that I'm living for and I'm pushing this family name for every day -- 'I'm done, I tore my Achilles.' Like, what the f--- you mean? You'reFor years, Durant maintained a list of milestones."Early in the process, it was learning to walk on two feet again," he said.
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