Kevin Durant unwittingly foreshadowed his fateful Achilles tear during a podcast appearance alongside Gilbert Arenas in early 2019.
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The Slim Reaper, as everyone calls him, was in the middle of a historic playoff run in 2019 when tragedy struck. He suffered a calf injury in Game 4 of their Conference Semifinals against the Rockets.
Stephen Curry and the Warriors’ OG Big Three came through in that series and the one that followed. But the Raptors’ stifling defense through 4 games of the Finals saw the Warriors fall into a 3-1 hole.
It was apparent that they needed Kevin Durant back to have any shot at getting back in the series. KD thought so as well, but in doing so, he took the court way too early for his foot to heal properly. And consequentially, he ended up losing 18 months of basketball.
Kevin Durant and Gilbert Arenas had an amazing in-depth conversation on real basketball stuff when he was still a Warriors superstar. Arenas’ No Chill Podcast is probably the one place where every NBA guest truly feels able to speak in unfiltered fashion.
Kevin Durant unwittingly foreshadowed his own Achilles injury on Gilbert Arenas’ No Chill pod
Arenas alluded to the 2018-19 Warriors’ staggering star power mid-way through that podcast. He said what was on everyone’s minds – that Warriors squad was downright unfair:
“This year, I don’t give a f*** what defense is out there. I’m just gonna be out there. Like, when I saw the first play between you and (Boogie) Cousins when you came down and then dunked, I said ‘You know what? This s*** ain’t even f***ing fair.'”
“It ain’t even fair. I don’t give a f*** if y’all lose 10 games in the next 20, this s*** ain’t even fair. There’s no team right now built to beat you guys. Period. I don’t give a f*** what happens.”
“Like, I don’t even know what the East Coast is about. You talking about Philly or Toronto, it’s the only 2 matchups. In both teams, star power ain’t there.”
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Arenas, as a neutral, seemed to get heavily carried away in his emotions as he spoke. Durant wasn’t going to let all of this talk get to his head, though. He kept a level head with his response, which seems a bit jarring in retrospect:
“From the surface level, that stuff sounds perfect, and certain things might be true. We still have to play those games, make those shots and play defense.”
“It’s easy for things to seep in and kinda f*** s*** up, you know what I’m saying? No matter what it is, from an injury, a shooting slump, an altercation – anything can come and creep in. Especially when you’re trying to win 3 in a row.”
