Nash: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving 'Unlikely' to Play All 72 Games After Injuries

Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash said Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are "unlikely" to play all 72 games during the 2020-21 season as they return from injuries. 

"I would say there's no plan in place, but it's probably unlikely that they both play 72 games," Nash told reporters Tuesday at media day. "It's been such a long layoff for both of them, and in particular, Kevin with coming off one of the toughest injuries to deal with as a basketball player. We have to be very careful and his adaptation process back into the game."

Durant missed the entire 2019-20 season after suffering a ruptured Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals. Irving was limited to 20 games with a right shoulder injury.

Achilles injuries have been historically difficult for players to recover from, with stars rarely returning to their previous form. Durant said Tuesday he's not worried about the potential for re-injury but is unsure whether he'll return to the same heights as a player. 

"Just try to play and not to worry about it. If it happens, it happens. Sometimes if you tend to focus on not getting injured, you go out there and get injured," Durant told reporters.

Durant also noted that he is currently feeling "good" on the court.

"I feel good playing. I am just taking it a day at a time," Durant said, per ESPN's Malika Andrews. "... I have been through surgeries and injuries before, but the longest recovery was three months. The first phase of the Achilles [recovery] was three months. You can't walk around, you have to use a scooter."

Durant was one of the three best players in the world at the time of his injury, so even a 95 percent version of his former self should be a yearly All-Star. However, there is a potential for re-injury and weakening of the muscles elsewhere in his leg.

The Nets should be a championship contender, so Durant and Irving ramping up their workload as the regular season progresses makes sense. The NBA is also playing a more grueling schedule in terms of back-to-backs in the shortened 72-game season. Stars sitting out one night of back-to-backs is going to be a regular occurrence across the league among healthy teams, let alone ones with two stars coming back from debilitating injuries.