Nets' Kevin Durant Reportedly Looks 'All the Way Back' After Achilles Injury

After missing the entire 2019-20 season with a torn Achilles, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant is reportedly back to full health ahead of the start of the 2020-21 season on Dec. 22.

According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, a source who saw KD playing pickup games in recent months was highly impressed with the one-time NBA MVP and two-time NBA Finals MVP: "He didn't look like Kevin Durant after an Achilles injury. He looked like Kevin Durant. He was all the way back."

The Nets signed Durant last offseason knowing it was a strong possibility he would miss the entire 2019-20 campaign, but now that he and Kyrie Irving are both healthy, the Nets may be about to reap some major rewards.

Although he is 32 and coming off a torn Achilles suffered during the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors as a member of the Golden State Warriors, Durant's resume should not be forgotten.

He is a 10-time All-Star and four-time NBA scoring champion who was arguably considered to be the best player in basketball before getting injured.

In both the 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals, KD outdueled LeBron James and led the Warriors to consecutive NBA championships over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Durant was named NBA Finals MVP both times and may have won a third in a row in 2019 had he not gotten injured.

The fact that Durant missed a year likely allowed James, reigning two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and perhaps a couple of others two surpass him in the "best player in the world" conversation, but KD could tilt the talk back in his favor if he is truly 100 percent.

Durant's return adds another layer of intrigue to an Eastern Conference that could be wide open in 2020-21 after the Miami Heat somewhat surprisingly reached the NBA Finals last season.

The Heat are contenders to repeat, while the Milwaukee Bucks, Raptors, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers could possibly be in the mix as well.

As far as superstar duos go, however, few teams in the NBA can match up with the healthy and in-rhythm tandem of Durant and Irving, who played only 20 games last season because of his own injury problems.

Even with Durant and Kyrie out last season, the Nets still managed to make the playoffs, which speaks to the fact that they have a solid base of talent outside their superstars as well.

Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, DeAndre Jordan and Joe Harris make for a strong supporting cast that may be capable of doing enough to push a Durant- and Irving-led team to the NBA Finals.

Durant has already been the leading man for NBA Finals teams in both Oklahoma City and Golden State, and he may well repeat the feat in Brooklyn if he can stay healthy.