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NBA Oklahoma City Thunder

Paul George’s Injury the Real Reason Kevin Durant Left Team USA

By @MichaelTerrill

Kevin Durant

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Everyone assumed the reason Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant left Team USA over the summer was because of Indiana Pacers forward Paul George’s horrendous injury. Of course, Durant never said anything about it publicly. Instead, he stated he was simply exhausted from the season, which no one could blame him for after winning the NBA MVP. However, Durant admitted recently that George’s injury absolutely had an impact on his decision.

“It took everything out of me seeing that,” Durant told friend Randy Williams and a Nike executive at his camp of George, according to the Washington Post’s Michael Lee. “Everything I had to play for Team USA, that injury stripped it away from me.”

“It felt awkward,” Durant said about the scrimmage that George was injured in. “Once we were playing, it just didn’t feel right for some reason.”

George suffered a gruesome compound fracture of both his right tibia and fibula during a Team USA scrimmage. At the time, Durant was seen noticeably distraught with what he had just witnessed. Of course, this was no different from what the other players were feeling.

“When you see something like that, so gruesome, in front of you, of course you’re going to think, ‘This could happen to me.’”

There is no reason to get mad at Durant for his decision to quit Team USA. As fans, the only reason to be slightly upset is because he did not come right out and say the real reason why he left the team. The truth is no one can blame him for having doubts about playing during the summer after what he had witnessed. For that reason, I do not have any issue with Durant walking away.

The Offseason: Kevin Durant, an HBO documentary (some reviewers are quick to point out that it is more like a HBO show), details what Durant went through the day of George’s injury and everything afterward.

Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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