NBA News: NBA MVP Kevin Durant Sidelined At Least 6-8 Weeks With Fractured Foot

The NBA is full of stars and those who make themselves into household names every year. This is good for the company and the franchises within it. One man has made himself known as one of the best in the NBA, but he could be out for a significant period of time. Oklahoma City Star Forward Kevin Durant has fractured his right foot. He has done what it commonly called a “Jones fracture“, which is a broken bone at the base of the small toe.

While this injury may not seem like a big deal, it is huge for a basketball player. Durant jumps often to do his job, which means he has to land on his hurt foot quite often. The impact of the jump fall combined with the stress it would put on it over time could cause significant damage. This is why Kevin Durant will miss at least 6-8 weeks of action. Doctors who have treated basketball players with similar injuries give the 6-8 week tentative return, but this is not an exact measurement, as it could be longer.

Kevin Durant is an important member of his team. He is the reigning NBA MVP after all. Considered the best player on his team, the impact of his departure is huge. This is why he wants to be back on the court as soon as possible. Doctors allow a player to start running the sixth week, but if Durant does not show signs of progress, he could miss up to 12 weeks. This would be a rough three and half months of action.

Thunder GM Sam Presti didn’t seem too worried, as he claimed…

“From what I’ve been told, a Jones fracture is the most common surgical procedure performed on NBA players as of late. It has happened enough so that there is enough of a body of work to look at an average recovery time.”

It seems that management is confident that Durant won’t miss too much time. However, it is uncertain if he will need surgery currently. Durant will be monitored over the next few days to determine if he will need such a surgery. If it is a light fracture, Durant could possibly be back sooner.

If he needs surgery, he will miss 8 weeks most likely. It all depends on the fact if he needs surgery and how he recovers obviously. It does seem like Kevin Durant will need surgery however, as Presti claimed…

“We’re heading in that direction.”

Presti then went on to say…

“We’re really fortunate that we’re catching it when we’re catching it. We are very fortunate that Kevin notified us yesterday and that we’re kind of catching it on the front end, before this became more of an acute issue.Because it’s a stress injury, it happened over time. The fact that Kevin mentioned it when he did is a real fortunate piece of this because if he had continued to play on it, it would continue to get worse. So, that it was identified when it was identified and that the pain or achiness was enough to mention it is a positive.”

Presti is right, catching this before too late is far better than catching late. One thing that the Thunder hope is that this is the last of the problems for KD, if this could cause more issues then they’d be in trouble. The cool part is that catching this early most likely prevented any major damage to anything else.

We know he will miss the first month of the season without doubt. However, this may not be a major issue for the Thunder currently. If Kevin Durant is gone, they always have Russell Westbrook to take the reigns. Westbrook is known for loving the idea of shooting at all times. Last year, he played better without Durant on the court. Potentially because he didn’t have to pass as much. A shooting guard in a point guard position, Westbrook can distribute the ball. He doesn’t have to as often without Durant. So expect a lot of shots to be taken by Russell, seeing as he does not have to give up the rock a lot.

The Thunder also still have Serge Ibaka to play in the other Forward slot. He has improved his offense a lot. He is mainly known for his defensively ability however. The Thunder will manage, and they will possibly even win without Kevin Durant. However, we do have to wonder what his impact will be upon his return.

[IMG Credits: dshhonline.com, huffingtonpost.com]