Kevin Durant injures left knee against Washington Wizards

Golden State Warriors All-Star small forward Kevin Durant has to leave the game against the Washington Wizards because of a left knee injury.

Knee injuries and former No. 2 overall picks are starting to become a thing in the NBA after the All-Star break. The Milwaukee Bucks had a scary incident where forward Michael Beasley hyperextended his knee on Monday night. Now Golden State Warriors superstar swingman Kevin Durant has succumbed to a similar fate.

Golden State was playing the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center on Tuesday night. Early in the contest, Warriors center Zaza Pachulia accidentally falls backwards on Durant’s left knee when going up for a rebound. Durant would walk off the court, but looked to be in obvious discomfort from the injury.

Who said joining a juggernaut team in the offseason was going to be easy? Certainly not Pachulia. Tuesday night was not the homecoming that Durant, the Washington native, would have hoped for.

People in attendance at the Verizon Center were expecting to see their prodigal son take on their own dominant basketball team at home. This year’s Washington team might be the best since Wes Unseld laced it up for the Bullets many years ago.

Losing Durant for any extended period will not be good for the Warriors. Golden State has been able to successfully integrate Durant into their potent up-tempo offense. The question remains what head coach Steve Kerr will do to adjust should Durant be out indefinitely.

UPDATE: The Warriors provided some additional context to Durant’s status on Twitter:

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From the initial look of the blow to his knee, Durant’s injury didn’t look to be as bad as Beasley’s, who will likely only miss a few games because of the hyperextension. However, big guys and leg issues are always scary.