What an absolutely bizarre night it was for Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant on Friday night in a game against the Toronto Raptors.
It began with Durant out for the start of the contest at the Barclays Center due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols. He was then cleared and began playing with over four minutes left in the first quarter.
But in the third, he was pulled again, again due to these protocols. And cameras from the broadcast caught what appeared to be the moment he was told he was being taken out — Durant, as you can imagine, looked frustrated:
This appears to be the moment KD learned he would be out the rest of the game due to health and safety protocols. pic.twitter.com/KGJan8mFNr
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 6, 2021
Remember — Durant tested positive for COVID-19 last year. This season, he missed a handful of games while in quarantine after exposure to someone with COVID-19, which required him to sit out.
Not long after he was removed, Durant tweeted two words: “Free me.”
Free me
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) February 6, 2021
Kevin Durant tweeted "free me" after being removed from the Nets-Raptors game due to health and safety protocols pic.twitter.com/CTUL9UL9Dh
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 6, 2021
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski then reported on why this all went down:
Durant was held out pre-game because of an inconclusive test for someone who he interacted with this afternoon — and pulled from game once that person returned a positive test later, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2021
Durant has tested negative three times in past 24 hours, league spokesman says. Once that positive test came back, Durant was put back into contact tracing. https://t.co/nshz4shnhH
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2021
Like I said: what a bizarre series of events.
