The footage isn’t remarkable, it’s shot in standard definition and captures a slightly random moment. It shows nothing to suggest that Kevin Durant will return in full force and nothing to suggest that he will not.
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All it shows is Durant dripping slowly, crossing to the left, running, jumping off both feet, and diving. It doesn’t say, “I’m back.” It doesn’t say, “I’m in the best shape of my life.” For eager NBA fans, the tape does nothing at all. What it does is work to slow things down, to give the viewer an idea of the moment. “Put down your swords and your hot blows,” he says, “if only for these six seconds. Remember Kevin Durant.”
Do you remember Kevin Durant? No scorer was scarier as of June 2019: No player was better prepared to lead the modern age of basketball, demanding offensive precision and defensive ability from everyone on the court. The video makes you or me miss KD anyway. And how often does someone miss something in the NBA?
This is the league in which nobody has to wait. The ball is marked and bounces immediately. The finals end and the draft begins. The draft ends and free agency begins. One player is exchanged and 10 more react on Twitter. There is action at 3 am, on days off, during specifically labeled moratorium periods (definition: “a waiting period”), including during a pandemic. On and off the court, basketball is a matter of speed. It is relentless. Durant himself has often had problems.
“I am trying to play basketball,” he once said. said. She was five months from free agency, but we wanted her to comment now. “You all come here every day, ask me about free agency, ask my teammates, my coaches. You piss off the fans about it. Let’s play basketball. “
Thirty teams, 30 days: The most important story of every NBA team before the return of the league.
Atl The | Bos | Bkn | Cha | Chi | Cle
Dal | Den | Det | GS | Hou Indiana
LAC | LAL | Mem | Mia | Thousand | Min
NO | NY | OKC | Orl | Phi | Pho
By | Sac | SA | Tor | Uta | I was
Durant has often been frustrated by this rotation, the circus that distracts from the sport and supports him immediately. He has said: “Being relevant in the eyes of fans does not make the ball go to the basket.” He has tweeted journalist Chris Broussard, a surrogate for the buzzing industry buzz, “Cap cap cap … you don’t have my number mannnnn.”
Lately, all of this has quieted down. Some of that has to do with the fact that Durant is still rehabbing his Achilles, which he ripped during the Finals last June. His contract, a four-year deal, also helps keep him out of superteam fantasies. Above all, however, the suspension of the league’s COVID-19 and social movements spreading around the world have made discussions of GOATs and maximum maximum space irrelevant.
Many players, including Durant, have shifted their focus to social issues. Following George Floyd’s murder, Durant conducted a rare interview, speaking to Marc J. Spears of the undefeated. Of the nightmare video describing Floyd’s death, Durant said: “It is harmful to see another life taken from us. Someone with a family. Someone who was a father. A son. A friend. It was horrible to watch, especially coming from people who they’re supposed to be protecting us. We’re really supposed to feel like we’re safe everywhere. ” On the response of the black community, he added: “I have seen the care, love and attention that we have as a community. With everything that is happening right now, it makes me very proud. We have many things on our backs, but we keep fighting. It is beautiful to see everyone unite at this time for what we all believe in, which is equality. ”
Durant also discussed the COVID-19 pandemic; in March Durant himself contracted the virus. (He was asymptomatic and fully recovered, as he told Spears.) “It is so sudden,” he said. “It is difficult to explain how quickly everything [happened] and how we had to quarantine our homes. It made us all adapt. In the future, things will change and we will adapt. It is a rare moment. It’s hard to explain to anyone. “
In May Durant released a documentary, Basketball County: in the water, about his hometown of Prince George’s County, Maryland, and the basketball talent he has produced. Last month, he bought an MLS team, the Philadelphia Union.
Rumors knocked on his door once this spring, asking if he would return from injury to play in the NBA Bubble League in Orlando, and answered, simply: “My season is over.” So direct, so open and closed, so un-NBA!
All we can work with is that fuzzy training video, courtesy of an Instagram story posted by his brother, Tony.
There is something in its simplicity that I love. For Durant, it is the perfect form of communication. It’s basketball and basketball alone, silencing any debate conversation about his injury and his career and his team. Of course, over time, all of that will circulate again.
In December, when the 2020-21 season is expected to start, Durant will return to the court. Her co-star Kyrie Irving, who underwent shoulder surgery in March, will also be ready. Questions abound. Will a third star join them? (Bradley Beal? Aaron Gordon?) Will Jacque Vaughn continue to coach? (Ty Lue? Jason Kidd?) Can Durant Perform 100 Percent? How will you continue with Irving? Whose team is it? Will the Nets exist in the NBA or will players pursue Irving’s supposed dream of a new league of players? Speaking of which, did that call really happen? Durant was on the line? What did he think?
Questions for another day. Inevitably, Durant will have to face them at some point, much to her chagrin. But for now, there are only five modest statements to consider: a slow dribble, a move to the left, a jump to the edge, a jump, a strong finish. So be it.
Leo Sepkowitz joined B / R Mag in 2018. Previously, he was a senior writer for SLAM magazine. You can follow him on Twitter: @LeoSepkowitz.
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