How Kevin Durant’s recovery has allowed him to reach a new level in training camp

Kevin Durant is already showing some major differences in his game at the Brooklyn Nets’ training camp.

Well before the NBA went on hiatus, Kevin Durant had gotten back to playing a little bit. He’d done three-on-three work with some of his Nets teammates who weren’t logging major minutes right around when the calendar flipped from 2019 to 2020.

While the superstar forward is physically cleared to make his Nets debut in the preseason and on opening night against the Golden State Warriors, a major injury can also have a significantly lingering impact in more ways than one — specifically, on an athlete’s mentality. But based on what Brooklyn guard Chris Chiozza has seen, it appears that won’t be an issue for Durant.

“Now you can tell he’s not afraid of creating contact and getting to whatever move he wants,” Chiozza said to reporters on a Zoom call Thursday. “The extra-work group, he was still coming back. Wasn’t sure exactly how healthy he was.”

“Was trying to feel out the contact, how physical to be with him and everything. But now, you can tell he’s back. He’s creating the contact. He’s doing what he wants to do.”

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