Brooklyn Nets superstar and All-Star captain Kevin Durant will not be attending the NBA’s 75th-anniversary ceremony after his grandmother, Barbara, passed away Sunday morning.
The grandmother of Kevin Durant passed away this morning, Wanda Durant announces. Kevin Durant – named one of the 75 greatest players ever – will no longer attend 75th Anniversary team ceremony tonight at NBA All-Star Game as the family mourns loss.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 20, 2022
Durant was already out of the All-Star Game due to injury, but was attending the event as captain of Team Durant and as one of the players selected to the NBA’s 75th-anniversary team — which will be honoured at half-time on Sunday.
When the NBA celebrated the 50th-anniversary team in 1997, all but three players attended.
Now, beyond just Durant, celebrating the 75th-anniversary team is anything but simple. Some players have died and others are unwilling — or unable — to travel amid the coronavirus pandemic.