NBA Finals 2019: Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers delivers emotional statement on Kevin Durant's injury

Gilbert McGregor

NBA Finals 2019: Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers delivers emotional statement on Kevin Durant's injury image

The Golden State Warriors earned a gritty one-point win over the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of the NBA Finals but again lost superstar Kevin Durant in the process.

Durant, who returned after missing over a month of action with a calf injury, exited the game in the second quarter after suffering a lower right leg injury. Following the game, Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers, who accompanied Durant to the locker room following the injury, took to the podium to deliver an emotional statement on his status.


A visibly affected Myers shared with reporters that "it's an Achilles injury," adding that "I don't know the extent of it. He'll have an MRI tomorrow."

Myers continued, adding context by sharing the steps that led to his return: "Prior to coming back, he went through four weeks with our medical team and it was thorough and it was experts and multiple MRIs and multiple doctors and we felt good about the process. He was cleared to play [Tuesday], that was a collaborative decision."

When speaking on who there is to blame, Myers told those in attendance to point the finger at him: "I don't believe there's anybody to blame but I understand this world and if you have to, you can blame me – I run our basketball operations department."

Before taking questions from the media, Golden State's president took the time to speak on Kevin Durant from a human side:

"Let me tell you something about Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant loves to play basketball and the people that questioned whether he wanted to get back to this team were wrong. He's one of the most misunderstood people. He's a good teammate. He's a good person. It's not fair."

We'll provide more information about Durant's status when it becomes available.

Gilbert McGregor

Gilbert McGregor Photo

Gilbert McGregor first joined The Sporting News in 2018 as a content producer for Global editions of NBA.com. Before covering the game, McGregor played basketball collegiately at Wake Forest, graduating with a Communication degree in 2016. McGregor began covering the NBA during the 2017-18 season and has been on hand for a number of league events.