For the second time in four seasons, the reigning league MVP has suffered a sidelining injury.
After Chicago Bulls star and 2011 award winner Derrick Rose suffered a torn ACL in the season following his campaign, Oklahoma City Thunder forward and 2014 award-winner Kevin Durant endured a Jones fracture in his right foot.
The early prognosis is that Durant’s expected to miss roughly six-to-eight weeks.
The news of Durant’s injury has been broadcasted over every network and social media platform. Many have questioned what this means for the Thunder’s season, while others, myself included, have pondered the impact it’ll have on Russell Westbrook.
Regardless of what type of speculation may exist, one thing is clear: Durant will return to MVP form once he returns from injury.
Surgery?
When an injury of this nature occurs, an inevitable question arises: will a player opt for surgery or let it heal naturally? Both have their merits, but most choose to under the knife to experience a full repair..
According to Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports, Durant has yet to decide upon which route he’ll follow..
"Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant is still considering treatment options for the Jones fracture in his right foot and a decision about whether or not to have surgery won’t likely be made on Monday, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.The people spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because a formal update had not been announced. Thunder general manager Sam Presti said on Sunday that “traditional treatment” of the injury typically required surgery and that the subsequent recovery time would likely be between six to eight weeks.He also made it clear that Durant was deliberating the matter with the Thunder’s medical personnel and his representatives."
No one can actually decide upon the best course of action but Durant himself.
Playing through the pain is admirable and, at times, expected by viewers who hold players to gladiator standards. The expected time of absence is six-to-eight weeks and the regular season has yet to commence, however, and that changes things.
Suddenly, a two-month absence isn’t quite so concerning. There’s a genuine possibility that Durant would miss less than 20 games.
More important than the expected time of recovery, however, is the ability to actually recover.
Sports medicine surgeon and president of The Centers for Advanced Orthopedics Dr. Nick Grosso spoke with Adi Joseph of USA TODAY Sports about the specifics of Durant’s injury and the risk in opting against surgery.
"“What differentiates the Jones fracture from other fractures … it’s really more toward the back of the foot, the back end of the long bone of the metatarsal, just forward from that. That has a very low blood supply and very low healing potential (without surgery) as a result.“Even in non-athletes, we tend to be more aggressive in treating this type of fracture. I’ve had two in the past few months where we’ve opted for surgery. … We’ve gotten more aggressive in treating this in the last 10 years. Some people still opt to treat conservatively, but a fair number of those … will go on to not heal and need surgery. But with athletes and other people who spend a lot of time on their feet, I try to talk them into the surgery right away just because it’s a higher chance of getting them up quickly.”"
According to Mark Adickes of ESPN Insider, the statistics say Durant’s best option is to go under the knife.
"A recent study found that Jones fractures treated without surgery had just a 76 percent chance of complete recovery, while those treated with surgery found a 95 percent return to full health.The study further showed acute fifth metatarsal fractures treated with surgery resulted in a return to activity within four to 18 weeks, with the bulk of these patients getting back in action in eight to 12 weeks. Studies of stress fractures (Durant’s probable variety) treated with surgery show a return to play in less than eight weeks. Athletes treated with surgery are placed in a walking boot and generally kept on crutches for just one to two weeks.If the athlete returns too soon, refracture could occur. When large screws are placed, recurrence is rare, certainly less than 5 percent of the time. Recurrence is up to 40 percent when treated without surgery. Those numbers are out the window if you don’t allow it to heal prior to returning. Then recurrence is nearly 100 percent."
Should Durant opt for surgery and thus undergo the six-to-eight weeks of treatment and recovery, he’ll be in a statistically better place to return to form. The question remains about whether or not he’ll accept the procedure, but the numbers don’t lie.
One way or another, Durant will persevere.
Size & Fundamentals
The worst aspect of a foot injury is that there’s no way to sustainably work around it as a player. Whether a shooter is gaining elevation on a jumper or a player is simply walking up the court, pressure is applied upon one’s foot.
Fortunately, surgery would repair Durant’s foot and, statistically speaking, help decrease the likelihood of aggravation. If there are lingering effects and his explosiveness is at all hindered, that’s not such a troubling thing.
Durant has two traits that separate him from the rest: his size and fundamentals.
Listed at 6’9″ but commonly acknowledged as a 7’0″ small forward, Durant’s greatest strengths are his combination of length and shooting ability. A member of the 50-40-90 club and a four-time scoring champion, Durant can fill it up from anywhere.
Literally.
As for how unstoppable he is as an offensive force, John Brenkus of Sports Science provided the answer.
Unstoppable isn’t a hyperbolic term; it’s fitting.
Durant has a 7’0″ stride, a 7’5″ wingspan and a half-second release speed on his jump shot. Even if you were take away the explosiveness in his legs, Durant would still destroy defenses as one of the most dominant physical specimens in the league.
Fortunately, the foot injury isn’t expected to linger beyond a potential surgery.
With one of the best jump shots in basketball and the size to prevent any actual form of lockdown defense, Durant’s explosiveness is secondary in importance. Tony Allen frustrated him in the playoffs, but Durant still averaged 29.9 points on a respectable 44.0 percent shooting.
That is Durant being locked down. In other words, at his worst, Durant is still a better scorer than a vast majority of the NBA.
In fact, there are only a select few players who he could be compared to all-time.
One of them has been in Durant’s shoes.
Like Mike
Fresh off of winning MVP, Kevin Durant has endured a severe foot injury. Fresh off of winning Rookie of the Year, Michael Jordan encountered a similar hurdle.
Jordan bounced back and become a legend. Durant will, too.
In just the third game of Jordan’s second season in the NBA, he suffered a broken left navicular tarsal in his left foot. Jordan was estimated to miss roughly six weeks, but ended up being sidelined for 64 games.
Before your stomach turns, remember what actually matters: Jordan went on to be one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Durant didn’t suffer the exact same injury, nor is he guaranteed to miss 60-plus games as Jordan did. There’s also no guarantee that Durant will heal as well as Jordan, which is the case for any injury, no matter how severe or insignificant.
Jordan simply stands as a testament to a star scorer’s ability to overcome this type of injury and return to elite form.
Durant has one distinct advantage over Jordan: nearly 30 years of advances in medicine and technology. Even with a high standard to return to, Durant is in a position where returning to elite status is far from out of the question.
That’s exactly what he’ll do.
Durant is coming off of a season in which he complemented his MVP award with a fourth career scoring title. Wilt Chamberlain, George Gervin, Allen Iverson and Jordan are the only other players with at least four.
That’s rare company.
Not only has Durant scored an extraordinary number of points, but he’s done so with remarkable efficiently. He’s shot better than 50.0 percent from the field in consecutive seasons and sank 49.6 percent of his field goals in 2011-12.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, Durant’s true shooting percentage of .635 in 2013-14 was the highest of any player in NBA history who averaged at least 32.0 points per game.
Durant hasn’t achieved these glorious feats by relying solely on dunks, layups and other close-range finishes. He’s made at least 128 3-point field goals in five straight seasons, including a career-high 193 in 2013-14.
Once he returns from injury, Durant will get back to doing what he does best: scoring and adding accolades to what’s already becoming a Hall of Fame career.