It ended up not mattering much, but it was considered a surprise when Kevin Durant decided to withdraw from the United States Men’s National Team just weeks before the 2014 FIBA World Championships. At the time, Durant released a statement saying that his decision was a result of him feeling the need to “take a step back and take some time away, both mentally and physically, in order to prepare for the upcoming NBA season.”
Kevin Durant admits Paul George injury caused him to withdraw from Team USA
In the summer, Kevin Durant cited a need to rest for his decision to withdraw from the US Men’s National Team. Now, he says the real reason he backed out was because Paul George’s leg injury “took everything out of” him.
Ethan Miller
But it turns out that was not the whole story. On Tuesday, HBO Sports will air "The Offseason: Kevin Durant," a behind-the-scenes look at how the reigning NBA MVP spent his summer, both on and off the court. According to Michael Lee of the Washington Post, Durant tells viewers that the gruesome leg injury that Paul George suffered was indeed the main driving point behind his decision to withdraw.
A few days before he reached out to Krzyzewski, Durant watched Indiana Pacers forward Paul George break his right leg in a horrific collision with a basket stanchion during a Team USA basketball scrimmage in Las Vegas that convinced the reigning NBA MVP to withdraw from the FIBA World Cup. “It took everything out of me seeing that,” Durant later told friend Randy Williams and a Nike executive at his camp of George. “Everything I had to play for Team USA, that injury stripped it away from me.“This contradicts previous reports that Durant’s decision was had nothing to do with George’s injury. But, according to Lee’s writeup on the HBO film, that injury is exactly what did it for Durant.
“It felt awkward,” Durant said of the scrimmage that possibly ended George’s season. “Once we were playing, it just didn’t feel right for some reason.”
It will be interesting to see what the reaction to this around the league is and also what else we learn in this HBO documentary, which appears to have received unprecedented access to Durant and his inner circle.
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