Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant diagnosed with Achilles injury

In advance of Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals, all eyes were on Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant and his injury status. By game time, Durant was in the starting lineup for the first time in a more than a month and, in the early going, the former NBA MVP contributed at a high level in helping the Warriors stay alive with a 106-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors. However, Durant was forced to the locker room with an injury sustained in the second quarter and, while the ailment that kept him out of action for the majority of the NBA Playoffs was diagnosed as a calf strain, the pending free agent is now facing an Achilles issue. 

"It's an Achilles injury," Warriors GM Bob Myers said at a post-game press conference. "I don't know the extent of it. He'll have a MRI tomorrow. Prior to coming back he went through four weeks with a medical team, and it was thorough and it was experts and multiple MRIs and multiple doctors, and we felt good about the process.

As noted by Myers, an MRI will provide further clarity on Durant's injury but Myers made sure to note that, while the "initial injury was a calf injury," the new ailment is "not a calf injury." The multi-talented forward scored 11 points in 12 minutes of action before the injury took place and, while Golden State was able to fend off a charge from the Raptors behind heroics from Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, attention quickly moved from the on-court triumph to the injury-related future of Durant. 

Further clarity will arrive in the coming days as a result of medical evaluation but members of the Warriors organization, including Myers and Curry, were visibly shaken by the injury and Durant noted on Instagram that he is "hurting deep in the soul" after the game. As the NBA Finals continue, Golden State will attempt to pull of a 3-1 comeback without him and the Warriors face long odds to do so, even as the series shifts back to Oakland for Game 6 on Thursday.