Getty NBA and NBAPA hosting players-only NBA 2K Tournament featuring Kevin Durant and others
Kevin Durant has not played NBA basketball since last year’s NBA Finals.
A two-time NBA Champion and NBA Finals MVP, Durant injured his right Achilles during Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.
“My road back starts now,” Durant posted on Instagram following his surgery.
“I got my family and my loved ones by my side and we truly appreciate all the messages and support people have sent our way. I’m hurting deeply, but I’m OK. Basketball is my biggest love and I wanted to be out there that night because that’s what I do. I wanted to help my teammates on our quest for the three peat.”
Last offseason, Durant joined the Brooklyn Nets with friends, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan. Durant didn’t play this season. Irving and Jordan played parts of the season and the Nets ended this season with a seventh place finish in the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings.
While Durant has been away from hoops he’s kept busy.
The Washington, DC native by way of Seat Pleasant, MD has has curated films like Basketball County: In the Water; a film that highlights hoops in Prince George’s County, Maryland. A Washington, DC native by way of Seat Pleasant MD, Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures also produced A Kid From Coney Island, a docu of Brooklyn legend and former two-time NBA All Star, Stephon Marbury.
Durant’s The Boardroom has also been a hit. Executive produced by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman, The Boardroom brings fans inside the business of sports, featuring real-time conversations with athletes and executives about what’s really changing the game. Hosted by ESPN analyst, Jay Williams, guests on The Boardroom have included Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Karl Anthony Towns, ESPN analyst, Stephen A. Smith, NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, ESPN Hall of Famer Cris Carter and many more.
Durant is the most interesting man in the world with his hands in the intellectual property space.
He’ll be getting back to work soon.
With career averages of 27 points, 7.1 rebounds 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game in stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Warriors, he’ and Kyrie Irving may be considered an NBA Eastern Conference favorite. An added bonus is their new head coach. On Thursday, the Nets shocked the basketball world when they announced that NBA Hall of Famer, Steve Nash would become the team’s new commander-in-chief.
Nets hired a great basketball mind in Steve Nash. There should be more black coaches in the league, Yes!
This particular hire shouldn’t be about that.
If I own a team or am a GM I’m hiring the best person for the job no matter the color of their skin. Steve Nash actually makes a lot of sense for this team.
He’s got history with KD in Golden State.
And a good relationship with KD and Kyrie. You want that from a head coach.
Nash’s connection with Durant was forged during Nash’s stint as a consultant for the Warriors. They’ll need Nash.
The perception by many pundits is that Durant and Irving are merely divas. Irving is a flat-earther; Durant likes to troll on Twitter and Instagram.
Does that make them complicated? “Yeah, he’s complicated,” Jay Williams told me of Durant during an appearance on Heavy Live With Scoop B.
“I’m complicated too Scoop. You’re complicated.
“Actually you spend time around him, he’s more normal than people give him credit for but people don’t get a chance to spend a lot of time with him.
“I tell people with KD, imagine from the time you’re in high school you’re 6’8”, 6’9” and people are telling you that you’re the next gift from God and you’re going to be a NBA player. Think about that. Think of how it affects your family and ultimately how it affects you.”