Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant will not play against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, per the team’s afternoon injury report. This will be Durant’s fifth straight missed game after spraining his left ankle against the Houston Rockets on March 30.
If Durant’s status doesn’t change before the 10 p.m. ET tipoff, then he will be officially ineligible to be named to an All-NBA team this season, as a result of the 65-game rule. Durant has appeared in 62 games, and only three games remain on the Suns’ schedule. There is an exception to the rule for players who suffer season-ending injuries after having played at least 62 games, but this doesn’t apply to Durant — the exception only covers players who had played in at least 85% of their teams’ regular-season games prior to the injury, and Durant had played in 82.7% of Phoenix’s games.
It is not totally clear, by the way, if this will be a season-ending injury for Durant. The closer the Suns get to being officially eliminated from postseason contention, though, the less likely his return seems. Phoenix has lost seven straight games, and its next loss — or the Dallas Mavericks‘ next win — will make it mathematically impossible to qualify for the play-in. (The Mavericks host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday and the Toronto Raptors on Friday before ending their regular-season finale in Memphis on Sunday. Phoenix will host the San Antonio Spurs on Friday and end their season in Sacramento on Sunday.)
Durant is an 11-time All-NBA selection and made the Second Team last season.
The only other player on the Suns’ injury report is center Nick Richards, who is listed as out due to right elbow inflammation. The Thunder, meanwhile, will be missing numerous rotation players on the second night of a back-to-back: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (left shin contusion), Isaiah Hartenstein (left Achilles tendinitis), Lu Dort (right patellofemoral injury management) and Cason Wallace (right shoulder strain) are all out.
If Durant’s season is over, the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer will finish it with averages of 26.6 points (on 64.2% true shooting), 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. The Suns nearly traded Durant ahead of February’s deadline and appear likely to pick up KD trade talks again this offseason.
