Kevin Durant said he thought his NBA career was over immediately after tearing his Achilles
Whenever he finally hangs his sneakers up, Kevin Durant will be remembered as perhaps the finest pure scorer in NBA history. But there was almost a time — during the 2019 NBA Finals, to be precise — when it seemed like we’d had watched the last of the elite version of Durant.
During a new Boardroom conversation, Durant explained that he was (understandably) not optimistic about the Achilles injury he suffered in those NBA Finals. It was so bad in the immediate moment that Durant explained his career started to flash before his eyes, and he wasn’t sure if he’d play NBA basketball again.
Phew. That is quite the revelation:
KD thought his career was over after he tore his Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals.
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Achilles injuries are notoriously challenging enough to recover from on their own. Now imagine having to recover from one while being a world-class basketball player. It’s perfectly logical that Durant’s mind wandered to the worst-case scenario. Fortunately for him, he’s continued playing and shining in the league.
It didn’t take long for Durant to regain his form with the Brooklyn Nets, and he’s now once again the best player on a good team (the Phoenix Suns). It goes to show you that the disaster scenario in your mind isn’t necessarily what will happen.