Kevin Durant says he didn’t hear Raptors fans cheering his devastating Achilles injury in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
But Durant had an acidic response to the Toronto faithful’s classless gesture.
KD was determined to suit up for the Golden State Warriors in their ill-fated quest for a three-peat despite not being 100% healthy.
Per Yahoo Sports:
“It will probably be the last time they will be in the Finals,” Durant told Yahoo Sports with a smirk.
Durant attempted to watch the remainder of Game 5 from his hotel room with his business partner, Rich Kleiman, and his Nike representative, Chuck Terrell, but dealing with a whirlwind of emotions, he turned the channel, only to switch it back a few minutes later to cheer on his teammates.
“Yeah, I still think about that night,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “Every experience I’ve been through in the league is obviously always ingrained in my mind, but that one is definitely always going to be a huge part of my career because it’s the biggest stage and the type of injury I had. But now I look at it as me just going out there playing basketball, and I happened to get hurt. And now I’m just waiting to get back. I know it’s a huge deal to everybody else, but I just try to take it on the chin and keep it moving.”
It’s that mindset that pushed Durant to keep working to be ready for the NBA Finals.
“No matter what the series was, I was aiming for Game 5,” he said. “That’s why I played when it was 3-1. No matter what, I just wanted to play in the Finals. I just wanted to hoop, especially if I could be out there. I was feeling good leading up to it. I was working out every day. I was gradually getting back to myself doing the two-a-days. I was really locked in on my game and trying to get back. I really wanted to play in that series.”
Related ‘Hell, No’: Kevin Durant Not Blaming Warriors for Achilles Injury
