No one on the Golden State Warriors has a connection with Kevin Durant quite like Quinn Cook.
The friendship between the two players goes back to their days growing up in the Washington D.C. area.
So Durant's Achilles injury hits close to home for Cook.
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Before Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors in Oakland, Cook honored his childhood friend by wearing a Durant No. 35 t-shirt during his pregame warmups.
Durant, who hadn't played since May 8, ruptured his right Achilles early in the second quarter of Game 5 in Toronto on Monday. On Wednesday, Durant announced on Instagram that he had surgery to repair the injury.
After practice Wednesday, Cook spoke to The New York Post about Durant's injury.
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“He’s going to come back 10 times better," Cook said. "That’s what kind of a person he is. The only thing about his future, Kevin Durant is going to be back 10 times better than ever. There’s no question about that. He’s not going to be the same player. He’s going to be better.”
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Whether or not Durant will be back with the Warriors next season is up in the air. He holds a $31.5 million player option for the 2019-20 season but is expected to decline it and become a free agent. The Warriors can offer Durant more years and more money than any other team, but no one really knows what Durant wants in his next deal.
For now, Cook and the Warriors are playing for Durant as they try to win the final game at Oracle Arena and send the NBA Finals back to Toronto for a decisive Game 7.
