Kevin Durant Defends Nikola Jokic from 'Injury Prone' Label After Knee Setback
Kevin Durant doesn't want to see Nikola Jokić get saddled with the burden of being labeled "injury prone" after the three-time NBA MVP suffered a knee injury that will keep him out for an extended period of time.
Speaking to reporters about the Jokić injury, Durant explained that he understands how quickly people can consider someone "injury prone" because of a fluke accident that happens during the chaos of an NBA game:
"One thing I don't want to see with Nikola is like, they started calling me 'injury prone' after that, but hopefully they don't start with him because it's one of those freak injuries that you can't really control. You can do all the work you can, but somebody falls into your knee, that's just tough."
Jokić was injured in the second quarter of the Denver Nuggets' 147-123 loss to the Miami Heat on Monday when teammate Spencer Jones accidentally stepped on his foot, causing his knee to buckle.
The Nuggets announced that Jokić was diagnosed with a hyperextension of his left knee and he will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
Durant is very familiar with this scenario because he suffered a sprained MCL in January 2022 while playing with the Brooklyn Nets that kept him out for nearly two months. The two-time NBA Finals MVP suffered the same injury one year later, also against the Heat in Miami.
That was during a period when it seemed like injuries were going to derail Durant's career. He had already missed most of two seasons after tearing his Achilles during the 2019 NBA Finals and played a total of 137 games during a four-season span from 2019-20 to 2022-23
Since that time, though, Durant has largely avoided serious injuries. He did have ankle issues in his final year with the Phoenix Suns that kept him out for a total of 20 games, but he has started 166 out of a possible 195 games since the start of the 2023-24 season.
One of the many reasons Jokić's injury felt so jarring is because he has been a player who doesn't miss a lot of time. The seven-time All-Star started each of the first 32 games this season prior to his injury. He appeared in at least 69 games in each of his first 10 NBA seasons.
Jokić was once again playing at an MVP level before suffering the knee injury. He is averaging 29.6 points on 60.5 percent shooting, 12.2 rebounds and 11.0 assists per game for the Nuggets.
