When is Kevin Durant Coming Back for the Suns? Latest Updates on MCL Injury

It's been nearly two months since basketball fans last saw Kevin Durant in an NBA game. The former MVP has been sidelined since Jan. 8 with an MCL sprain — nearly one month before he was traded to the Phoenix Suns from the Brooklyn Nets.

The initial belief was that Durant would only miss about a month, but we're well past that point now. Here's the latest look at when Suns fans can expect the 34-year-old to make his team debut.

Latest Kevin Durant Injury Update

Although Durant isn't ready to suit up in a Phoenix jersey just yet, fans likely won't have to wait long to see him back on the court. The Athletic's Shams Charania reports that Durant and the Suns are aiming for him to make his debut against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, March 1.

Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns are targeting his Suns debut and return to action in next Wednesday's road game against the Charlotte Hornets, league sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Durant is on cusp of return from MCL sprain that he suffered on Jan. 8.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 22, 2023

Durant missed over a month of action in 2017 with an MCL sprain, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that he missed a similar amount of time with his latest injury. Nevertheless, he has been practicing with the team this week, even earning praise from teammates like Deandre Ayton, who described practicing with Durant as being "insane."

"Then KD just getting in his bag and doing it on my team. Wearing the same jerseys. It was pretty cool and just seeing him and Book, he's scoring, Book scoring, 3. Dump it off to me. It's insane man."

Deandre Ayton on Kevin Durant and Devin Booker at practice Thursday. #Suns pic.twitter.com/IPckIg9wAn
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) February 23, 2023

Assuming that Durant plays on Wednesday, he'll have exactly 20 games remaining to gel with his teammates ahead of the postseason. All eyes will be on him to see if he picks up from where he left off. Before his injury, Durant averaged 29.7 points on .559/.376/.934 shooting splits over 39 games with the Nets.

With how much the Suns unloaded to land Durant, it's unsurprising to see them playing it safe until they're certain that he's at 100% (or close to it). After all, Phoenix needs a healthy KD to capitalize on its +450 odds (No. 3) to win the NBA Championship on FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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