New York—Brooklyn forward Kevin Durant won’t play in the Nets’ NBA clash against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday in compliance with the league’s Covid-19 health and safety protocols.
The Nets listed Durant as out for the game on their injury report on Monday, without providing further details.
League rules aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus require players to isolate if they have a positive or inconclusive test or if contact tracing indicates they had close contact with someone who has.
The Athletic reported that Durant has been required to quarantine because contact tracing revealed potential exposure.
Durant, a two-time NBA Finals MVP who missed all of last season recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, confirmed in April of last year that he had contracted the virus.
Since finally making his long-awaited Nets debut this season, he has played in six games and averaged 28.2 points and seven rebounds per game.
Meanwhile, his teammate Spencer Dinwiddie underwent successful right knee ligament reconstruction surgery on Monday and is expected to fully recover, the NBA team announced.
Dinwiddie will begin rehabilitation next week but there was no timetable announced for a possible return to the court for the Nets.
The 27-year-old American suffered the anterior cruciate injury last month in the third quarter of a 106-104 loss at Charlotte.
In three games this season, Dinwiddie averaged 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists starting alongside Kyrie Irving in the Brooklyn backcourt.
Over seven NBA seasons, including two with Detroit before joining the Nets, Dinwiddie has averaged 12.9 points and 5.0 assists a game.
The Nets are off to a 3-4 start with two of the NBA’s top eight scorers in Kevin Durant, the top-scoring forward with 28.2 points a game, and Irving with 26.8 points per contest.