Kevin Durant immediately proves he’s still KD in Nets season opener (Video)

Kevin Durant wasted no time reassuring everyone he’s still KD.

For anyone who was understandably concerned about how Kevin Durant might look returning from the awful Achilles injury he sustained in the 2019 NBA Finals, the Brooklyn Nets‘ season opener on Tuesday night looked like a very reassuring first step back to dominance.

Facing his old team in the Golden State Warriors, KD made his regular-season debut with Brooklyn, the team he left the Dubs for in 2019 NBA free agency. It was his first regular-season game since that fateful Game 5 injury almost 18 months ago, and he wasted no time letting the world know that KD is still very much KD.

In less than five minutes, Durant had not only scored his first bucket but had racked up 10 quick points, outscoring the Warriors 10-8 by himself as Brooklyn surged to an early 18-8 lead. He “only” had 10 points in the first quarter, but the Nets were all over Golden State from the get-go, leading 40-25 at the end of the period.

Kevin Durant’s first pull-up 3 off the dribble looked like vintage KD:

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1341537154405560320?s=20

Kevin Durant is still the same Kevin Durant we know and love

Durant made it look as effortless in that first quarter as he ever has, attacking poor closeouts off the dribble:

And being unafraid to pull up when the defense cut him off:

Kyrie Irving led Brooklyn with 17 first-quarter points, but Durant’s immediate scoring spark got the Nets started on the right foot. One quarter out of a 72-game regular season doesn’t mean a whole lot when looking at the big picture, but after not being able to enjoy KD on an NBA court for 18 months, it was great to see him looking comfortable, healthy and deadly as ever right from the opening tip.