The grief that followed Kevin Durant’s Achilles tendon injury emanated outward in waves.
First there was Durant himself, in shock as he lived his worst nightmare. Then there were his Golden State Warriors teammates, rushing instinctively to aid an already lost situation. Then there were the Toronto Raptors, paying their respects at a basketball wake. And, finally, there was GM Bob Myers after the Warriors’ improbable Game 5 win, choking back tears as he accepted responsibility for Durant’s injury while praising his star forward’s character for attempting what turned out to be an ill-fated comeback.
The lasting sensation at Scotiabank Arena was a deep and unsettling nausea, knowing that Durant’s decision to return from a right calf strain, only to suffer a far more serious injury after just 12 minutes of action, bears massive implications for his career and for the NBA’s entire summer landscape.