Kevin Durant 's NBA career was derailed for 18 months while he rehabbed an Achilles' tear, which he suffered during the 2019 NBA Finals. Durant missed the entire 2019-20 NBA season and was placed on load management and minutes restrictions the following season.
Although Durant was able to recover and return to form, he reflected on how the outcome might have changed if he had known the risks of playing in the championship series. He shared that no one on the Warriors medical team informed him that his existing calf strain could result in an Achilles tear.
"Achilles weren't a thing. Like Kobe had one, but it wasn't a lot of Achilles injuries around that time. I wasn't really thinking about that, calf muscle can lead to that, so I was just like, I felt good, like I can run up and down the court, I can slide laterally, but looking back, my Achilles wasn't ready for that type of load," he said on "Unguarded"
Durant suffered a calf strain in Game 5 of the Warriors' second-round series against the Houston Rockets . That caused him to be out for a month and sit out the entire Western Conference finals and the start of the championship series. However, with a chance to accomplish a rare three-peat, Durant said he did not close the door on returning later in the Finals.
And so after the Toronto Raptors pushed the Warriors to the brink by winning Game 4 and taking a 3-1 series lead, Durant ramped up his rehab and did everything to get himself cleared to play, even traveling 45 minutes from the hotel to get an underwater treadmill procedure. He started feeling better, and so he played 3-on-3 during the Warriors' practice the day before Game 5. He was moving so well in that game that everybody, including himself, felt he was ready to play.
Unfortunately, he lasted only 12 minutes in Game 5 before succumbing to an Achilles tear.
"I don't regret going out there and playing. But if I knew that information, I probably would have made a different decision. If they told me like 'You can tear your Achilles,' I probably wouldn't have went out there. That wasn't even a thought process. Nobody really even made me aware of that," Durant concluded.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton admitted that he called Durant for advice prior to playing in Games 6 and 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Like Durant, Haliburton suffered a calf strain in the first quarter of Game 5, which the Indiana Pacers lost, enabling the Oklahoma City Thunder to move within one win of clinching the Larry O'Brien trophy.
"I had some close friends, family, and mentors in my life, call me after Game 5 and say, 'Hey, shut it down,'" said the Pacers guard. "I called KD after I got my MRI after Game 5. I said, 'Bro, do you regret playing in the game you tore your Achilles?' He said, 'No, not at all.' He said, 'You never…' I was like, 'Alright.' Yeah, I wasn't going to switch anyway, so I'm glad he said that. It made me feel a little bit better," Hali added.
Haliburton started Game 7 like a house on fire. But after only nine minutes of action, he fell on his own while trying to plant his feet and drive to the basket. He tore his Achilles tendon, and the Pacers lost Game 7.
Unlike Durant, however, Haliburton admitted he was told that he was at risk of suffering an Achilles tear. He has been declared out for the entire 2025-26 season.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Dec 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
