Los Angeles (AFP)
NBA star Kevin Durant, who broke his right Achilles tendon a year ago, said Friday he would not make his debut with the Brooklyn Nets when the season resumes in late July in Orlando. considering "not ready".
"My season is over. I didn't intend to play" in 2019-2020, Durant said in an interview with The Undefeated.
"Before this season started, we just decided to let it go and focus on the next one," he added.
The exercise was turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced the league to pause it since March 11. And soon after the announcement Thursday of the resumption of the championship on July 31 at Disney World quickly speculated the presence of Durant on the floors.
The double NBA champion with Golden State (2017, 2018) suffered this serious injury during the 2019 finals, still in the jersey of the Warriors, finally dispossessed of their title by the Toronto Raptors.
He then left California to land in Brooklyn, where fans hope he will form a formidable duo with the leader Kyrie Irving, also arrived last summer.
"It is better that I wait. I don't think I am ready to play matches of this intensity next month," said the MVP for the 2014 season, who says he is training every day and feeling "again like a normal player".
The Nets are one of 22 NBA teams affected by the resumption of the season. The project received the approval of the players' union on Friday, despite some reservations made on certain points.
Durant, who is among a dozen players in the league who tested positive for coronavirus in the spring, has not said whether he will accompany his teammates to Florida.
© 2020 AFP