Kevin Durant injury reaction: Are Phoenix Suns' NBA title chances 'doomed'?
The Phoenix Suns and their fans were ready to party Wednesday night in Kevin Durant's expected debut in front of his home crowd at Footprint Center.
But Durant injured his ankle in warm-ups, quickly turning the mood around the franchise and making the party more of a pity party in Phoenix.
The Suns, who were considered a favorite for the NBA title after trading for Durant, now have to weather a lengthy absence for the star, with the organization issuing a statement Thursday that Durant would be re-evaluated in three weeks.
Here's what NBA pundits were saying about Durant's injury and how it would affect Phoenix's title chances in the aftermath of Wednesday night's game.
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VOTE: Are the Phoenix #Suns 'cursed'? (Fans cite Kevin Durant's injury as further proof: https://t.co/RiH7grOLqQ) @azcentral #WeAreTheValley
— azcentral sports (@azcsports) March 9, 2023
Undisputed: Kevin Durant's injury 'dooms' Suns' chances
Shannon Sharpe said: "Now they aren't going to win a championship without Kevin Durant. They are not. It was going to be hard for them to win a championship with Kevin Durant … They've got less than a Clorox chance, Clorox 99.9% chance they are not winning the title."
The Suns fear Kevin Durant suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain and could miss 4-6 weeks:
“This dooms their chances. Like Clorox, they now have a 99.9 chance of not winning the title.” — @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/42wSl5Yxfs— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) March 9, 2023
Undisputed: Kevin Durant injury 'crushing' for NBA
Skip Bayless said: "This is crushing, this is devastating, not only for Kevin Durant but for the Phoenix Suns and their fans, for NBA fans everywhere, for our show for everything involved. Everything NBA just suffered. He's one of the greatest players ever, one of the best players in the league."
"This is crushing, this is devastating, not only for Kevin Durant but for NBA fans everywhere."@RealSkipBayless reacts to KD's ankle injury pic.twitter.com/yZHK7ECAz8
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) March 9, 2023
First Take: 'No title aspirations' for Suns without Kevin Durant
Stephen A. Smith said: "There are no title aspirations that are reasonable for the Phoenix Suns without Kevin Durant. It starts and ends with him. If he ain't there, they don't have a snowball's chance in hell. Let's just get that out of the way first."
"There are no title aspirations that are reasonable for the Phoenix Suns without Kevin Durant. ... If he ain't there, they don't have a snowball's chance in hell."
—@stephenasmith pic.twitter.com/xD1TO4c5J7— First Take (@FirstTake) March 9, 2023
Get Up: Kevin Durant's injury history was baked into trade
Zach Lowe said: "Look, this was baked into the trade when they made it. Kevin Durant is 34 with some recent injuries that are concerning. Chris Paul is 37 and he seems to get hurt in the playoffs every year. …If the Suns suffer an injury to one of those players at any given time, they will not possibly be able to say, now who could have seen this coming?'"
"There's no issues fitting [KD] in like most superstar players. He's the most easily fittable superstar in NBA history."
—@ZachLowe_NBA pic.twitter.com/1SUhdR1IM0— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 9, 2023
More:5 takeaways as Kevin Durant suffers left ankle sprain before Suns win over OKC
Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Monty Williams react to Kevin Durant's injury:
The Suns' Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Monty Williams reacted to Durant's injury in post-game interviews captured by The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin on Wednesday night, taking a much more measured approach to the situation than some national pundits.
"He's in good spirits." Devin Booker on Kevin Durant (ankle) #Suns pic.twitter.com/m0elYS6GPA
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 9, 2023
Monty Williams called it a left ankle aprain for Kevin Durant.
Said they'll get more imaging to make sure everyone is on the same page, but will look to see how he responds to treatment. #Suns pic.twitter.com/4IVHIYBY0R— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 9, 2023
"The city has been waiting on this. It's a big day. We'll reschedule the party. I'm sure they'll be back. People who missed out tonight, I tried to give them a little something to make it better, but we're still anticipating his debut." Devin Booker on Kevin Durant (ankle) #Suns pic.twitter.com/Jk6EGOuL3W
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 9, 2023
Chris Paul said he found out about Kevin Durant's injury before the game when Durant was on the training table. #Suns pic.twitter.com/WtqLoPk93x
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 9, 2023
More:Phoenix Suns: Kevin Durant in 'good spirits' after missing Wednesday's game with left ankle sprain
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kevin Durant injury reaction: Phoenix Suns' title chances now 'doomed'