NBA: Warriors Get Clean Chit From Nets Star On Injury Claims

Kevin Durant has reiterated that the decision to play Game 5 during the 2019 NBA Finals was his and made it clear that he was not forced by Golden State Warriors because they were trailing Toronto Raptors 3-1. It was that very game that ended the small forward’s 2019-20 season after he sustained a ruptured Achilles after just 12 minutes on the court.

The Warriors forward had spent the previous 31 days on the sidelines with a calf injury but was determined to make a return during the finals as he was keen to help the Warriors complete the three-peat. They eventually went down 4-2 to the Raptors and Durant has since left the team and joined the Brooklyn Nets on a four-year deal.

Many have laid the blame squarely on the Warriors for rushing Durant’s return which they believe is the reason he suffered a season ending injury before the previous campaign concluded. Nets point guard Kyrie Irving was the latest to blame the Warriors claiming that it was not the right decision to allow Durant to play.

However, Durant, who had previously stated that it was his decision to play has now made it clear that even if the Warriors wanted they would not have been able to stop him from getting on the court. The forward admitted he was desperate to play the finals, especially since they had a chance of winning a third straight NBA title.

"I was excited. I was like a kid. I wanted to play. It was the Finals. You don't get the opportunity to try to win three in a row. I was working to get to that point,” Durant said during his appearance on “Hot 97” radio in Brooklyn. "A lot of people said the Warriors might have pressured me. But they're probably saying that they (the Warriors) could have stopped me from myself -- put up a wall and say 'No, you're not playing.'"

"But nobody would have stopped me at that point. I was gonna play no matter what ... I thought I was gonna go out there and cruise through the game ... s--t happens,” he added.

The Nets do not expect Durant to return before the end of the 2019-20 season but the small forward is making progress in his recovery and was recently seen shooting hoops with Irving. The Nets begin their pre-season campaign against the Los Angeles Lakers in China on Thursday.