Kevin Durant suffered an Achilles tendon injury during Game 5 of the NBA Finals, where the Golden State Warriors are taking on the Toronto Raptors.
Monday’s game was the first time Durant played since May 8, when he went down with a calf injury against the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals.
As soon as the 6-foot-9 All-Star forward was injured in Toronto some of the Raptors fans began to cheer, but a few Raptors players like Kyle Lowry gestured with their hands for the crowd to stop.
Drake was among the hometown crowd, which is typical because he serves as the team’s global ambassador, and he was seen consoling Durant after he was hurt.
The rapper showing concern to an opponent was in direct contrast to his usual behavior of trash-talking when the Raptors play, which he’s been heavily criticized for during this year’s playoffs.
In fact, the “Nice For What” performer posted a message about Durant’s injury and explained how difficult it was for him to watch.
“Was tough for any of us to even enjoy that game tonight after seeing this transpire,” wrote Drake early Tuesday morning. “Praying for our brother. That’s my only concern tonight is your well being. “The game needs me” is an understatement when it comes to 35. Please wish the best for this true warrior. 🙏🏽”
Drake has always seemed fond of Durant and name-dropped him in French Montana‘s 2012 cut “Pop That.” He also has Durant’s No. 35 tattooed on his arm.
The hoops star didn’t thank Drizzy for his kind words, at least not on social media, but he released a statement about the injury.
“Dub nation gonna be loud as f–k for game 6,” wrote Durant on IG live after game 5. “I’m hurting deep in the soul right now. I can’t lie but seeing my brothers get this win was like taking a shot of tequila. I got new life. Lol.”
After the injury, a lot of people came down on the Raptors fans for their reaction to Durant’s injury, and Golden State Warriors All-Star guard Steph Curry was one of them.
“Very confused around that reaction,” he said in a press conference. “It’s not my experience with the people of this city, and I commend obviously Danny Green and Kyle Lowry especially. I think they were the ones that were kind of signaling to the crowd, like, let’s check ourselves a little bit.”
The Warriors beat the Raptors in game 5 106-105 and are behind in the series 3-2. The next game takes place on Thursday in Oakland’s Oracle Arena.
