Kevin Durant had three surgeries last season – one in October when he broke his foot, one in February to replace a screw and a third in March due to what the Thunder described as “persistent soreness.”
I suppose that might technically be true, but here’s a more accurate depiction: Durant broke his foot again.
Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report:Durant has no fear in acknowledging the severe state he found his fifth metatarsal in despite the two prior surgeries.
“It had a crack in it,” Durant told Bleacher Report.
Durant used a controversial bone-graft material that is not FDA approved for use in the foot to promote greater bone growth this time. It mandated a longer recovery time in part because of an additional procedure to protect against overgrowth of bone.
“They stuffed some bone-graft thing in, and they pasted over the top of the area. That healed up in a couple of weeks,” Durant said. “But then they stuck something else in there just to smooth it out and make sure it was thick. They did a lot.”
It was all done because of how surprising it was that Durant’s foot fractured again after it had been healing.
You can spin this one of two ways:
1. It was a fluke that Durant re-broke his foot. There’s no good explanation for the second break, so it was just bad luck.
2. There’s something peculiar about Durant that causes repeated foot trouble. It might be his body type, playing style or both, but there’s a reason.
Obviously, there’s a world of difference between the two. Any team that considers Durant in free agency next summer will inquire deeply into his medical records.
For now, we must be content knowing Durant is making progress. He practiced with Team USA in Las Vegas this week, and he should be ready for the NBA season.
Beyond that is a lot more uncertainty than desirable for one of the NBA’s best players.
