Kevin Durant's mom recalls 'anguish' in his eyes, says decision to return still needs to be analyzed

Cassandra Negley
Updated

It’s been an emotional 36 hours since Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant went down in the second quarter of a Game 5 victory over the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals on Monday night.

While the extent of his Achilles injury is still unknown as of Wednesday morning, his mother, Wanda Durant, spoke about the moment and her thoughts during an appearance on “Good Morning America.”

Wanda Durant: ‘He worked so hard’

Durant told GMA’s Robin Roberts she was watching Game 5 on TV and was excited for her son’s early success in his first game back since a calf injury suffered in the Western Conference semifinals. He scored 11 points before leaving early in the second quarter.

“I was excited for him because I know how much he loves the game and I know how he’s been injured before, so I knew he wasn’t going to jeopardize himself,” she told GMA.

The injury was a jarring moment that may forever change Durant’s career as well as the trajectory of the NBA.

“I was just glued on him and glued on his eyes to see how he was doing,” Durant told GMA. “It’s still kind of hurtful to see the anguish in his eyes. He looked as though he felt somewhat dejected at that time.”

The mother and son talked within 10 minutes of the injury, she said, and he reassured her.

“He just told me not to cry because I know he worked so hard to get back to play. And he just told me it was going to be OK, just don’t worry,” she said.

There was no halftime update from the locker room on his condition due to the “raw emotion.” He was later ruled out and an emotional Bob Myers, Warriors’ president of basketball operations, announced during the postgame press conference that it was an Achilles injury.

Wanda Durant on Raptors fans cheering

In the immediate moments after Kevin Durant went down and slid to the side of the court, some Raptors fans at Scotiabank Arena were cheering and waving “goodbye” at the star.

“At the time I didn’t hear them. It was completely silence to me because I was just watching him,” she said. “But when I heard about it I was really hurt. Kind of disappointed that that was the first [response] after something so horrific.”

Durant credited Raptors Kawhi Leonard and Serge Ibaka, whom she calls “dear sons of mine,” for calming down the crowd as the Warriors helped Durant to the locker room

Wanda answers if Durant should have played

Everyone has a take on who is to blame and if Kevin Durant should have been in the lineup at all Monday during the elimination game in Toronto. The Warriors’ victory moves the series back to Oracle Arena for one last game there and the Raptors up 3-2.

Charles Barkley was among the many commentators on Tuesday’s media shows calling out the Warriors and placing blame on the organization. Myers called it a “collaborative” decision for Durant to play in his postgame comments and said he was cleared by doctors.

Wanda Durant told GMA it still has to be analyzed to “see if they made the right decision. That’s kind of up in the air right now.”

“What I will say is the doctors said he was OK,” she said. “Kevin couldn’t have gone on his own to say he was going to play without the advisement of the doctors.”

Sources told Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes that though he was cleared, the 10-time All-Star was not anywhere close to 100 percent.

Idea Durant faked calf injury ‘harsh’

Wanda Durant said she had been quiet over the years while people questioned her son’s love for the game. If Kevin Durant’s return in Game 5 proves anything, it’s that his initial injury was real and his commitment to the Warriors true.

She took to Twitter on Monday night and explained those comments further to GMA’s Roberts as she began to get emotional.

“The last few years there has been a lot of questions about who he is as a person, his love for his teammates, his love for the game. And it was really painstaking but because my son is an adult now and the NBA is his employer I chose not to respond. But after they questioned him about an injury, faking an injury, using an injury for his benefit, I felt that was really harsh ... I know that’s not who my son is so i just wanted to let them know, I’ve been hearing all their words over the years.”

The results of an MRI are expected Wednesday. Durant, who can opt out of his contract next month, could miss the entire 2019-2020 season depending on the extent of the injury.

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