Years have passed since Kevin Durant left the Warriors, but they haven’t been able to carry out their plans for his return due to unforeseen circumstances.
The last time Kevin Durant donned a Golden State Warriors uniform was during Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals on May 8, 2019, against the Houston Rockets. After injuring his Achilles tendon in that game, Durant left the Warriors and joined the Brooklyn Nets two months later.
A lot has transpired in those four years – he recovered from his injury and returned to form, battling other lingering ailments and entropy to help make the Nets appear like a contender in brief bursts. Before being eventually transferred to the Phoenix, he made two distinct trade demands last month.
The Warriors endured a pair of ugly, injury-riddled seasons before bouncing back to win another title last year.
When might Kevin Durant play in front of a Warriors home crowd again?
The Suns don’t have any more road games against the Warriors this season which means the earliest this could happen is during the playoffs. As luck would it have it, the Suns and Warriors are currently the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the Western Conference, setting them up for a first-round matchup. That would put a theoretically healthy Durant in front of Warriors fans in Game 3.
If, for some reason, the standings change and they don’t meet in the playoffs, Warriors fans will have to wait until next year to cheer and/or jeer Durant in their own building.
