Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant appears to be getting closer to returning from his foot injury. Both the Oklahoman and NewsOK reported Durant's workouts have intensified, and coach Scott Brooks hasn't ruled out the reigning MVP making his season debut on Tuesday against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Durant has yet to play this season after a fracture was discovered in his foot during training camp. He underwent surgery six weeks ago, and this week he began intensified individual shooting workouts at game speed.
Darnell Mayberry tweeted a series of updates about Durant on Monday:
"Brooks says Durant is 'definitely moving in that direction.' Says KD went through entire practice today. ... Anthony Morrow says Kevin Durant's return to practice has pushed him to team blue. He wasn't talking about the D-League. ... Morrow said Durant told him not to take it easy on him. Starting to look and sound like Durant is really close to coming back."
Brooks didn't rule out Durant playing on Tuesday, either.
"Don't know," Brooks said, via NewsOK. "Don't know. We just want to continue to put up good days on top of each other. We'll let you know at the appropriate time."
Along the same lines, ESPN's Chris Broussard reported Durant would be back within a week.
Oklahoma City is 5-12, but they've won their last two games. The Thunder also received a boost with the return of Russell Westbrook, whose presence on the court lessens the need for Durant to return immediately.
For his part, Durant has spoken about taking his time recovering and not rushing his return. He also shared the advice Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant gave him about how to improve his game while on the sideline.
"Kobe Reached out to me at one point right after I got out of surgery," Durant told ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike" on Nov. 4. "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."
Oklahoma City visits New Orleans on Tuesday; tipoff is at 8:00 p.m. ET.
