Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain and will be re-evaulated in two weeks, according to the team.
Durant was forced to leave Brooklyn’s win against the Miami Heat during the third quarter last night after colliding with Jimmy Butler at the rim.
Brooklyn have since announced that the 34-year-old has an MCL sprain in his right knee and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, but there is optimism within the Nets that he will miss less time than he did last season (six weeks).
There’s optimism Durant will miss less time than he did with a six-week absence last season; a significant sigh of relief around the Nets and their MVP candidate. https://t.co/MrfAPtU90W
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 9, 2023
The two-time Finals MVP had 17 points in 30 minutes and passed Dominique Wilkins to move to 14th on the NBA’s career scoring list in South Beach on Sunday. He started the season in 21st place.
Durant has the third-highest true shooting percentage in history by a player with 20+ points per game in a season this year with 67.3%, behind only Steph Curry (67.5%, 2018) and Nikola Jokic (68.7%, this season).
The former Golden State Warrior’s career averages in points, rebounds and assists per game have increased since he came back from his achilles injury.
The Nets say that Kevin Durant is OUT for the remainder of Nets-Heat due to a right knee injury after Jimmy Butler fell on his knee on this play.
Prayers up to KD 🙏 pic.twitter.com/v0PPP9Hfe1
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 9, 2023
According to the latest NBA betting odds, the Brooklyn Nets (27-13) are third-favorites at +750 to win the NBA championship this season and sit second in the Eastern Conference, a game behind the Boston Celtics (28-12).
Durant is also a leading candidate to win MVP at a price of +650 with BetOnline, behind only Luka Doncic (+260), Nikola Jokic (+300), Jayson Tatum (+325) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (+350).
