Sidelined with a fracture in his right foot, Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant shared the advice Los Angeles Lakers veteran Kobe Bryant told him about missing games because of a significant injury. Durant also spoke about the Washington Wizards, a team which some are predicting him to sign with in 2016 as a free agent.
Durant is out for at least the next four weeks after doctors discovered a small fracture in his foot during training camp. He underwent surgery and will be reevaluated next week, but the missed games - four and counting - are weighing on a player who has only missed 16 games combined through his seven-year career.
The reigning MVP, though, took some solace in the advice Bryant shared with him.
"Kobe Reached out to me at one point right after I got out of surgery," Durant told ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike" on Tuesday. "We played a preseason game, and I was sitting on the sideline, and I was just wanting to get into the game. I just asked him, how'd he do it? What was his thought process? He just told me, he tried to learn the game as much as he can from the sideline and be the best teammate he can be and support all the guys.
"From a guy like Kobe that stood out to me, just knowing he's at the top of his game, but always trying to get better in all aspects, I learned a lot just from that conversation. It was big for me."
Durant also spoke about the Wizards, his hometown team that a growing number of people believe will be a real contender to sign Durant in two years. While he acknowledged his strong desire to be a role model for the kids in his hometown, he said he could still have just as strong as an influence on his community from Oklahoma City.
"I really haven't thought about that, to be honest. I hear it a lot," Durant said of potentially signing with Washington in 2016. "But I think I can make an impact on the community I grew up in from anywhere. So I think I'm doing a good job of that in Oklahoma. My friends, my family, the kids in my neighborhood are seeing that. I'm inspiring them from Oklahoma City.
"I really haven't thought about it. I love where I am. I know that sounds cliché and the answer everybody gives, but that's really true from my side of it. I'm sure everybody's watching from afar."
What Oklahoma City accomplishes this season with their current roster and the moves they make in the offseason could have a big affect on whether Durant tests free agency. The Thunder, though, have appeared reluctant to pay a hefty luxury tax in order to bring in a big-name star. Although they reportedly tried to sign Pau Gasol in the offseason, it failed.
Washington, though, is on the rise behind their backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal. They made it to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs last season before falling to the Indiana Pacers.
