When Kevin Durant revealed for the second time that he wasn’t going to make his return to the court in 2019-20 (the novel coronavirus pandemic created room for speculation again after he’d ruled himself out well before the NBA’s hiatus), one thing the Brooklyn Nets forward brought up to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated was the fact the star set the tone for his own rehab.
I had to reset and totally focus on just me and what I wanted out of this thing. For the first time, I felt like I was in my own space rehabbing. I didn’t feel like I had to be a part of the team and travel with the team and do everything like I was playing. I could really take my time and focus on myself each and every day.
This also helps explains why Durant didn’t always travel with the Nets on the road. And it was helpful for him mentally, as he explained further to Spears:
I didn’t feel rushed at all. That was a great space to be in. I was putting pressure on myself in previous injuries wanting to hurry up and come back. I saw my teammates having fun and wanted to be out there. This time I felt like I was more patient throughout the process mentally and not rushing myself mentally. Not get too excited when my team plays well or I have a good [rehab] day. I’m taking things second-by-second and I’m trying to look out for what is best long-term.
Part of what’s helped to create that space is Durant putting actual distance between himself and the team, especially recently. According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, “Much of Durant’s current recovery work has taken place in Southern California.” The goals with this decision: “to give him some distance from the Nets and from that type of thinking [of making an early return].”