Kevin Durant insists nobody at the Golden State Warriors forced him to play in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in June when he suffered his Achilles injury. Durant had been playing in his first game since being sidelined for a month with a calf injury he had picked up against the Houston Rockets in the second round of the playoffs.

It had been suggested at the time that the injury-ravaged Warriors had rushed Durant back too quickly but, speaking for the first time since the incident, the two-time NBA Finals MVP says that was not the case.

The 30-year-old small forward, who signed for the Brooklyn Nets last month, said when asked if he blamed the Warriors for the injury: “Hell, no. How can you blame (the Warriors)? I heard the Warriors pressured me into getting back. Nobody never said a word to me during rehab as I was coming back.

“When the series started, I targeted Game 5 for my return. Nobody was responsible for it. It was just the game. We just need to move on from that.” Durant, who is expected to miss the entire 2019/20 season with the ruptured Achilles, joined the Warriors from the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016.

He averaged 25.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists per regular-season game during his three-year stay in Oakland. The Golden State Warriors are available at 15.00 to win the 2019/20 NBA Championship outright, while the Brooklyn Nets can be backed at 26.00 and the Los Angeles Clippers at 4.33.