German fans traveled 5,000 miles to watch Kevin Durant, except he isn’t playing

The fate of most teams in the NBA has already been decided. The teams are either gearing up for their prospective playoff runs or they’re continuing the long haul of tanking in preparation for the draft lottery. The only thing hanging in the balance at this point is the playoff seeding. This is March—at least for the NBA.

And while some teams are trying to position themselves in an ideal seed to get the best possible matchups for the playoffs, others are comfortable where they are now. And because of it, teams are finding it easier to bench star players to give them just a few more days of rest. It’s a winning combination, save for some fans.

It makes it even worse when the fans travel from different countries. Already we have seen fans from Australia make the trip to Los Angeles to see Kobe, only to be disappointed. A die-hard Raptors fan from Japan saw his favorite team but witnessed a blowout. A 7,000-mile trip is no guarantee.

On Tuesday, German fans hoping to see Kevin Durant play became the latest in a long line of NBA treks. Unfortunately, Durant is sitting out today. If we can take anything away from these long-planned trips it’s this: It’s better to make plans to watch your favorite superstars early in the season when they have more to play for.