Kevin Durant can’t catch a break.
Durant sprained his ankle in pregame warmups before Phoenix’s 132-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
The Suns announced that Durant sprained his ankle, though they did not specify the degree, and said he will be reevaluated in three weeks.
It’s a blow to the superstar scorer who only forced a trade on the Suns after Kyrie Irving’s decision to request a trade before the NBA’s trade deadline on February 9, a move that Durant said surprised him. in a February podcast appearance.
Durant was coming off a 37-point effort on 12-of-17 shooting in Phoenix’s win over Luka Doncic, Irving and the Dallas Mavericks.
( The Nets will go on a 3-game winning streak on trial when the team heads to Milwaukee )
It seemed like he was finally settling into a rhythm of play before spraining his ankle on Wednesday.
“He’s working hard, getting ready for the game, and he sprains his ankle,” Suns head coach Monty Williams said after the game. “So I mean, you can’t get frustrated about it. That’s life. I feel bad for him because he feels bad. I saw his face and I’ve been around him so many times I know what he feels. I don’t want him to feel that way at all.
“I think all NBA teams are cautious just because they care about guys trying to win games and protect their livelihoods. So this will be no different. We just have to wait and see how he responds to treatment, and we’ll probably get more images to make sure everyone is on the same page.”
Durant played in 39 games for the Nets this season and averaged 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game before the trade. He missed the last 14 games of his tenure with the Nets with a sprained MCL and missed the first six games of his career with the Suns with the same injury.
He sprained his ankle moments before his fourth game with the Suns.
The Nets traded Durant to the Suns for four first-round picks, plus wingers Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson. The Suns have 16 games left on their schedule. If Durant misses three weeks, he will have six games left in the regular season before the Suns make a playoff push.
