NEW YORK _ Don't expect Kevin Durant to return this season.
That's the message Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson delivered when asked if there was any chance the former league Most Valuable Player could return to the court this season.
"No. I think we're all on the same page," Atkinson said ahead of tip-off against the Bucks on Saturday. "That's not going to happen."
That's the smart approach. After all, Durant ostensibly rushed back from a calf injury last year with the Warriors when he returned for Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals. He then ruptured the Achilles tendon in the same right leg as his calf injury. The league has been without "the sleeping monster" ever since.
The Nets gave Durant a four-year max contract anyway,
Durant's resume is as follows: a one-time league MVP, four-time league scoring champion, two-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, 10-time All-Star, two-time All-Star Game MVP, two-time Olympic gold medalist and one of just eight members of the 50-40-90 club _ players to maintain shooting efficiency numbers of 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 90% from the foul line for an entire season.
He is the kind of player you make that investment in.
Even though he hasn't been on the court, Atkinson says his MVP is still making an impact.
"He's a quiet personality but when he needs to say something he says it, and usually what he says is spot-on," the coach said. "He's a guy that likes to work in the shadows. He doesn't like all the attention, that's what I see. He's working his tail off. Listen, when he walks in the room, we all become more confident even though he's not playing."
Durant averaged 26 points per game last season and 25.8 points per game over his three seasons with the Warriors. He averaged better than 27 points per game in six of his first nine seasons in the NBA.
