Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant is expected to be sidelined for about a month, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday.
The Nets announced Monday that Durant has been diagnosed with an isolated MCL sprain of his right knee and will be re-examined in two weeks.
Durant missed six weeks with a left MCL sprain that began in January of last season, but there is confidence this is a less serious injury that won’t sideline the MVP nominee for more than four weeks, the Wojnarowski sources said .
Durant picked up the injury in the third quarter of the Nets’ 102-101 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday night.
The injury came at 1:05 of the third quarter when Heat swingman Jimmy Butler went to the edge and blocked his shot from Nets big man Ben Simmons. Butler fell back into Durant’s knee and Durant stayed on the ground for a few moments but stayed in the game.
Durant kept rubbing up and down the floor on his knee and was taken out when the Nets called a timeout about 30 seconds later. He went straight back to the dressing room for a check-up and didn’t return.
This isn’t the first time Durant has struggled with a knee problem. He injured his left knee in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans at the MCL on January 15, 2022 and had to sit out more than 1½ months during rehab. The Nets, who were 27-15 at the time and still playing part-time with Kyrie Irving because of New York City’s vaccination assignment, were 5-17 in Durant’s absence, including an 11-game losing streak.
Durant also missed over a month in 2017 when he sprained an MCL and suffered a bruised shin after former Golden State Warriors teammate Zaza Pachulia accidentally fell on his knee.
Durant has burst onto the MVP talk this season, averaging 30 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists, taking the Nets (27-13) back to the top of the Eastern Conference after a turbulent start to the season on and off the court guided .
ESPN’s Nick Friedell contributed to this report.