Kevin Durant 'excited' to play before Golden State fans as Phoenix Suns open season at Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO – Kevin Durant is already pumped about beginning his 16^th NBA season with the Phoenix Suns.

“We’ve been preparing for the last two weeks,” Durant said after Sunday’s practice in Phoenix. “I think the coaching staff have been doing a great job of implementing an identity we want to have, the schemes we want to use as a team. Looking forward to putting it to use to start the season. It’s always an exciting time when opening night comes around.”

He’ll be even more fired up for this one.

Durant will play before Warriors fans for the first time since he left after the 2018-19 season as the Suns open the 2023-24 regular season Tuesday night at Golden State.

“I’m excited to play in front of those fans,” Durant said. “I had some incredible moments there and we built a bond that doesn’t really have to be spoken about, me and the fans in the Bay Area. Feel like they’ve been supporting me way before I came there actually. Then once I became a part of the Warriors, they just went even harder in support of myself and my teammates.”

Durant won back-to-back NBA championships, consecutive finals MVPs and reached the finals in each of his three seasons in Golden State.

“You felt every player individually felt what it was like to play for the Golden State Warriors,” Durant continued. “Then to win a championship, you’re just immortalized there, you know, no matter what your role was on the team. I’m excited to get back in front of people I call family there in that organization. Fans that I worked as hard I could for three years there. It should be fun.”

Durant has played one game in San Francisco since he went to Brooklyn on a sign-and-trade the summer of 2019 when the Nets played Feb. 13, 2021, at Chase Center, but it was amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

There weren’t any fans in the stands.

Brooklyn won, 134-117. Durant finished with 20 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Last season, Durant missed out on playing at Golden State due to injury. He injured his ankle during pregame warmups March 8 before what would’ve been his home opener with Phoenix.

He was sidelined 10 games with one of them being March 13 at Golden State.

Fast forward to Tuesday, Durant will open the regular season on the road against the Warriors, who said back in 2021 they’d replay his tribute video whenever he returned to play before their fans.

Warriors officials confirmed Sunday a short video will be played Tuesday during pre-game introductions.

"He was incredible here and will go down as one of the great players in franchise history," Warriors coach Steve Kerr after Monday's practice. "The fact that it lasted three years shouldn't make any difference. I think our fans are so wise in terms of their knowledge of the game. They recognize everything Kevin did for this franchise. I would expect nothing less than a huge ovation."

Durant said he’ll at some point take a moment to reflect on his historic three-year run with Golden State.

“Most definitely,” Durant said. “I can’t tell you right now how it’ll be, but when you look up and see all the people that I played in front of that long and you realize the memories you had in those colors? We’ll see what happens. I always reflect on my time there and at each stop that I played in and try to implement it in some form or fashion into the new situation. It was a great experience playing for the Warriors.”

The Warriors will be without Durant’s former teammate, Draymond Green, for the opener, Kerr said.

Green was just cleared to begin practicing 5-on-5 after suffering a left ankle sprain during off-season workouts, team officials announced Sunday.

Green missed Golden State’s five preseason games.

“His return to game action will be based on his continued progress as he works his way into game-like condition,” the Warriors update on Green’s injury concluded.

This will also see Phoenix’s first game against Chris Paul since the Suns traded him to Washington in the Bradley Beal deal during the offseason.

The Wizards later traded Paul to Golden State and got Jordan Poole in return.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kevin Durant praises Warriors fans, excited about return in Suns' opener