Kevin Durant’s home debut for the Phoenix Suns will have to wait.
Durant injured his left ankle during pregame warmups on Wednesday and was ruled out shortly before tip against the Oklahoma City Thunder with soreness.
Durant slipped and fell during a pregame drill.
The Athletic’s Doug Haller reports that Durant tightened his shoes and continued to warm up for 10 more minutes after his fall. But whatever happened, it was apparently too much to play through on Wednesday. The extent of his injury was not initially clear.
Durant joined the Suns via trade from the Brooklyn Nets prior to the NBA’s February trade deadline. He was sidelined at the time with an MCL injury that caused him to miss 20 games.
He made his debut with the Suns on the road against the Charlotte Hornets on March 1. The Suns won that game and two subsequent road games against the Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks. He and fellow All-Star Devin Booker have thrived on the court together, raising hopes in Phoenix that the Suns will compete for a championship.
Wednesday’s game against the Thunder was slated to be Durant’s highly anticipated home debut with his new franchise. Instead, he and Suns fans will have to wait at least one more game. The Suns next play the Sacramento Kings at home on Saturday.