Kevin Durant's Mom Wanda to Warriors Star's Doubters: 'You Don't Know Him'
June 11, 2019
As Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant awaits an MRI to determine the severity of his Achilles injury, he has nothing but love and support from his mother, Wanda Durant.
Wanda took to Twitter on Tuesday to call out his haters and let it be known that her son has the "heart of a true Warrior":
After a nine-game absence due to a right calf strain, Durant made his much-anticipated return to the court Monday night, with the Warriors trailing the Toronto Raptors 3-1 in the 2019 NBA Finals. Unfortunately, he was only able to play 12 minutes before he went down with a non-contact injury early in the second quarter of the Game 5 victory.
It was later revealed that he had suffered an Achilles injury.
While he was beloved during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Durant's public image took a hit when he joined the Warriors—who went 73-9 and eliminated Durant's Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference Finals—during the summer of 2016.
Durant has led Golden State to back-to-back championships, winning Finals MVP each time, but continues to find himself under constant scrutiny. As he can become a free agent this summer by declining his $31.5 million player option for 2019-20, his commitment to the Warriors was questioned by some.
Golden State president of basketball operations Bob Myers made it clear after Game 5 that Durant had been doing everything he could to get back on the court with his teammates, noting the 10-time All-Star is "one of the most misunderstood people":
Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry echoed similar sentiments:
When an injured Durant had to be helped off the court Monday, some fans at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto cheered, a move that rubbed a number of Warriors players the wrong way.
Klay Thompson called the cheers "bulls--t," while DeMarcus Cousins and Draymond Green used the words "trash" and "classless" (Warning: Media contains profanity):
It's worth noting Kyle Lowry and the Raptors made an effort to get those fans to stop celebrating the injury.
With his team on the brink of elimination, Durant was willing to put his body on the line for his team as Golden State looked to keep its hopes of a three-peat alive. It wound up costing him, though Myers said that nobody was to blame for the injury.
Now, Durant will await the results of Tuesday's MRI to find out the severity of the injury.