Is Kevin Durant out vs Knicks? Reason for Suns superstar's questionable status explained

The Phoenix Suns designated forward Kevin Durant as questionable for Sunday’s game against the New York Knicks due to right foot soreness. The star forward has played in all of the Suns’ games this season except their latest against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.

The Suns added Durant to the injury report against Memphis at the last minute, also citing right foot soreness as the reason. Phoenix won the game convincingly, 110-89.

The other players listed in the Suns’ injury report are as follows: Bradley Beal is ruled out due to back issues. Drew Eubanks is listed as probable with an ankle concern. Yuta Watanabe is questionable with a quad issue and Damion Lee is out following knee surgery.

There are no players in the Knicks’ injury report.

Durant is averaging 31.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 4.0 turnovers and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 53.3% from the field and 52.2% from distance.

Durant has been the healthiest member of the Suns’ Big 3. Devin Booker has missed eight games and Beal has been absent for 13 games so far.

Currently, Durant holds the fourth position in minutes per game, averaging 36.9 minutes. He ranks second in scoring with 31.4 ppg, trailing only behind Joel Embiid, who leads with 31.9 ppg.

After Friday’s game, Booker acknowledged the challenge the Suns face in attempting to fill the void left by Durant.

"It's tough," Booker said (per SportsMax). "You can't replace what he brings to the court. His scoring ability, his versatility on defense. It's going to take a lot of extra from everybody else."

Kevin Durant becomes NBA’s 11th leading scorer

In his 1000th career game on November 21, 2023, Kevin Durant passed Elvin Hayes to become the 11th-leading scorer in NBA history. Before the game, Durant held the 12th spot, needing only 14 points to exceed Hayes. He finished the game with 31 points, bringing his total career points to 27,331.

“Being amongst the all-time greats, the guys who set the standard and made the NBA what it is today is an honor,” Durant said after the game. “It’s pretty cool and I just gotta keep going.”

Durant, 35, is now headed toward the 10th spot, currently held by Moses Malone with 27,409 points.

Durant is one of only two active players among the top 20 all-time leading scorers, alongside LeBron James.

A 13-time All-Star, Durant has led the league in points five times over his career.