Advertisement

Players, social media react to Raptors fans cheering Kevin Durant injury in Game 5

ryan young
Staff writer
·5 min read

Just before halftime in his first game back since injuring his calf earlier this postseason, Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant went down with a similar injury in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night in Toronto.

After rallying back to beat the Raptors 106-105, keeping the series alive, the Warriors announced that Durant had suffered an Achilles injury, sidelining him for the rest of the season.

While Durant was down on the floor, several Raptors fans throughout Scotiabank Arena started cheering and waving at him, appearing to be happy that he went down.

One Raptors fan standing courtside near Durant could be seen on the broadcast waving at him, clearly happy that he went down and was sidelined from the rest of the game.

Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, after hearing the cheers, quickly started motioning for them to stop before checking on Durant personally. He wasn’t alone, either, as players from both teams quickly joined in.

Now, not every Raptors fan inside the arena participated — and Durant did receive a strong ovation and a loud “KD” chant as he was helped off the court and into the locker room.

Still, cheering for a player getting injured is never a good look for fans, even if that player is on the opposing team. While it’s obviously an easier battle for the Raptors without Durant on the floor, it’ll be tough to find any true player or NBA fan celebrating his latest injury.

While he noticed fans applauding, Warriors coach Steve Kerr commended the Raptors players who quieted the crowd during the injury after the game.

“The Raptors players were telling the crowd to be quiet, out of respect, which I appreciated,” Kerr said. “Some of the fans were cheering when it happened, and I think the Raptors players understood how serious it was and they sort of quieted the crowd. There was just a couple minutes there where it all seemed so eerie and strange, and it took maybe a little bit for both teams to collect themselves.”

Warriors guard Steph Curry had a similar reaction.

“I'm very confused around that reaction,” Curry said, via USA Today. “It's not my experience with people of this city and I commend, obviously, Danny Green and Kyle Lowry, especially. I think they were the (Raptors players) that were kind of signalling to the crowd like, ‘OK, let's check each other a little bit and understand this is about an individual human being,’ and not, ‘Oh, shoot. He's out. We won the championship.’

“Like that was probably their initial thought, and you hate to see that when a guy's going through pain like that. Again, that's not my experience with this city, and I just hope that ugliness doesn’t show itself again as we go forward in this series.”

Players, fans take to social media

Players on the floor at Scotiabank Arena weren’t the only ones to take offense to those disrespecting Durant on Monday night, either.

Many instantly took to social media to condemn the action, including Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid.

Kyle Lowry #7 of the Toronto Raptors reacts as Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors is carried off the court in the first half during Game Five of the 2019 NBA Finals at Scotiabank Arena on June 10, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors reacts as Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors is carried off the court in the first half during Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals at Scotiabank Arena on June 10, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

More from Yahoo Sports: